Time-resolved spectroscopy using a chopper wheel as a fast shutter
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)
Widely available, small form-factor, fiber-coupled spectrometers typically have a minimum exposure time measured in milliseconds, and thus cannot be used directly for time-resolved measurements at the microsecond level. Spectroscopy at these faster time scales is typically done with an intensified charge coupled device (CCD) system where the image intensifier acts as a “fast” electronic shutter for the slower CCD array. In this paper, we describe simple modifications to a commercially available chopper wheel system to allow it to be used as a “fast” mechanical shutter for gating a fiber-coupled spectrometer to achieve microsecond-scale time-resolved optical measurements of a periodically pulsed light source. With the chopper wheel synchronized to the pulsing of the light source, the time resolution can be set to a small fraction of the pulse period by using a chopper wheel with narrow slots separated by wide spokes. Different methods of synchronizing the chopper wheel and pulsing of the light sources are explored. The capability of the chopper wheel system is illustrated with time-resolved measurements of pulsed plasmas.
- OSTI ID:
- 22392308
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 86, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
High frame rate CCD cameras with fast optical shutters for military and medical imaging applications
Feasibility study into the use of mechanical choppers to alter the natural time structure of the APS