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Characterisation of Optical Materials

Characterisation of Optical Materials

Completed project

Collaborative construction of two “goniophotometers” for characterisation of optical materials.

Microsharp Corporation Ltd

In conjunction with engineers from Microsharp Corporation Ltd, LiveWires has built two “goniophotometers” (one of which is shown) for characterisation of optical materials.  A collimated light source is shone through a sample, and the transmitted light collected by a detector. 

Using Aerotech rotary stages and motors and National Instruments data acquisition hardware, the sample and detector are scanned through a series of pre-specified angles, to build up a 3D picture of the optical transmission properties of the material under test.

Characterisation of Optical Materials
Characterisation of Optical Materials

Such a 3D picture would take nearly an hour to compile with Microsharp’s previous generation goniophotometer, but the new system takes just 5 minutes, with the data being downloaded automatically to an Excel file. 

Furthermore, the program can be used to compare several samples – as shown in the screen shot below.

The automation of our Goniophotometer has infinitely reduced the amount of time we spend collecting data and has provided us with a reliable and versatile apparatus to perform a variety of optical measurements.

The user interface, designed by co-operation between Automation Interfaces [LiveWires] and Microsharp, is very easy to use. Complex data is presented visually such that it is instantly understood, plus, data can be stored and easily retrieved for comparison with other data.