A classic spectrometer or a classic monochromator typically comprises a dispersive medium, entrance and exit slits, and imaging components which produce a parallel beam path. To record a spectrum, a detector located behind the exit slit must sequentially record the incident light, while the dispersive component or the exit slit is moved. This mechanical movement requires time and is prone to defects. In many applications – in industry in particular – short measuring times and insensitivity to external influences are a major advantage. Since the end of the 70's, when several developments converged, Carl Zeiss has been working on diode array spectrometers.
- Diode arrays which – used in place of the exit slit – simultaneously recorded a complete spectrum within a fraction of a second (and made moving components superfluous) became attractively priced, making their wider use possible.
- Imaging gratings developed at Carl Zeiss made lens elements or concave mirrors superfluous. This greatly reduced the number of components needed for instrumentation.
- Quartz light fibres were launched on the market. These allowed a modular design of spectrometers, as complex coupling devices were no longer required.
The size of a spectral device is technically determined by the mounts for the gratings, slits, detectors, imaging components etc. In terms of physics, the size is only determined by the resolution required. As many applications do not require high resolution, but a high repeatability, small sizes are sufficient.
The concept of the MMS and MCS family is based on reducing the opto-mechanical design as well as the number of components to their physical minimum and, in addition, to use as many of the same parts for the individual versions as possible. The main applications of the MMS and MCS modules are industrial analysis, Color- and Thickness measurements. |  Grating
Cross section converter
Spectral resolution
Intensity resolution
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