Interferometery

• Definition: It is a family of techniques in which

waves, usually electromagnetic waves are
superimposed causing the phenomenon of
interference in order to extract information.

Interferometer : A device with a beam splitter,

fixed mirror, and moving mirror that breaks input light
into two beams that interfere with each other. The
degree of interference depends on the difference in
path length of the two beams.

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Optical Diagram
Michelson
Interferometer
Light He-Ne gas laser
source

Beam splitter Interferogram

Movable mirror

Sample chamber

DLATGS (deuterated L-
alanine doped triglycene
Fixed mirror sulphate)
Detector
Interferometer
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Theory of IR
• The heart of the FTIR is a Michelson interferometer .
• It is a technique which is used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption
or emission of a solid, liquid or gas.
• An IR spectrum is essentially a graph of infrared light absorbance (or
transmittance) on vertical axis vs. frequency or wavelength on horizontal
axis.
• Infrared spectroscopy has been a workhorse technique for materials
analysis in the laboratory for over seventy years.
• An infrared spectrum represents a fingerprint of a sample with absorption
peaks which correspond to the frequencies of vibrations between the
bonds of the atoms making up the material. Because each different
material is a unique combination of atoms, no two compounds produce the
exact same infrared spectrum. Therefore, infrared spectroscopy can result
in a positive identification (qualitative analysis) of every different kind of
material.

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The Sample Analysis Process
• The Source
• The interferometer
• The sample
• The detector
• The computer