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This section provides some interesting information on various applications that have been created using fiber optic spectrometers and other types of analytical instrumentation.  If you have an interesting application that you would like to share with others, please send your article to applications@stellarnet-inc.com

 
Customer Applications Description

Agricultural and Food

 
Plant Reflectance Spectral reflectance from plants can indicates plant stress and predict growth rate
Lumber Colorimetery Initial high-temperature schedule to reduce drying time and control kiln brown stain in ponderosa pine shop lumber. The surface color and lightness of rough green and dry fleshly planed boards were determined using a StellarNet Spectrometers
Surface Characterization of Weathered Wood-Plastic Composites Produced from Modified Wood Flour The effects of weathering on the surface properties of wood-plastic composites (WPC) were examined. High-density polyethylene WPCs made from modified wood flour were subjected to accelerated (xenon-arc) weathering. Colorimetery and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to monitor the color change and surface chemistries of the weathered WPC surface. The study showed that longer exposure time caused higher oxidation, lower wood lignin and higher plastic content of the weathered WPC surface.
Onions A fiber optic sensor measures percent soluble solids in onions for a big pay off at market time.
Contaminants on Poultry Processing Equipment Detection of Fecal/Ingesta Contaminants on Poultry Processing Equipment Surfaces By Visible and Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

Environmental and Ecology

 
Remote Sensing Monitoring- Tallapoosa Watershed Hyperspectral Reflectance Measurements of Chlorophyll Concentration and Related Water Quality Predictors
Influence of plumage colour on prey response: does habitat alter heron crypsis to prey? The foraging strategies of wading birds may be influenced by their degree of crypsis to aquatic prey. White
plumage has been hypothesized to be adaptive for herons hunting in open water habitats. We tested this
hypothesis with laboratory and field experiments with multiple prey species. The foraging strategies of wading birds may be influenced by their degree of crypsis to aquatic prey. White plumage has been hypothesized to be adaptive for herons hunting in open water habitats. We tested this hypothesis with laboratory and field experiments with multiple prey species.
Spectral Signatures of surface materials in pig buildings Spectral Signatures of the reflectance of visual and near infrared radiation are used to make statistically significant discrimination between clean and dirty pig building areas
Birds- Black Phoebes Exploring how the Black Phoebe’s (a small bird that is a sit-and-wait predator) vision, the reflectance of prey items and the background, and irradiance interacted to change how the bird looked for food items.

Female Preferences for Aposematic Signal Components in a Polymorphic Poison Frog

Aposematic signals may be subject to conflicting selective pressures from predators and conspecifics. We studied female preferences for different components of aposematic coloration in the polymorphic poison frog Oophaga pumilio across several phenotypically distinct populations.

Physics

 
OH Emission Spectra of Hybrid Rocket Motors
Using PMMA and HTPB

Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrometry Characterization of
Combustion in Hybrid Rocket Motors
The development of sensors for hybrid rocket motors has lead to the use of near-infrared diode lasers for characterizing hybrid rocket plumes. Emission Spectra obtained can be used to calculate species concentrations and temperatures, both spatially and temporally, in rocket exhaust plumes. In this paper we report our findings from a study of the emission spectra of hybrid rocket exhaust plumes in the ultraviolet, UV, visible, VIS, and near-infrared, NIR, regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Spectroscopic Diagnostics of an Atmospheric Microwave Plasma for Monitoring Metals Pollution

A 1.5 kW, 2.45 GHz microwave sustained plasma in a flowing sample of stack exhaust gas has been shown in recent DOE/EPA testing to be an accurate monitor of trace hazardous metals (in the part per billion range) such as lead, chromium, and beryllium. Optical-UV spectroscopic studies are being carried out to better understand this particular atmospheric pressure plasma torch.

Organic semiconductor devices for micro-optical applications

The use of organic optoelectronic devices such as organic light-emitting diodes and organic photodiodes in micro-optical systems is discussed. Potential applications like optical interconnects and optical sensor systems are examined. Device characteristics including emission spectra, I-V-curves and the dynamic behaviour are analyzed. In the combination with a polymeric optical fibre (POF) a transmission line comprising a organic light emitting diode and organic photodiodes is demonstrated. An important step towards integration is realized by coupling the amplified spontaneous emission of an organic semiconductor material into a single mode polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) waveguide.

Colour-tunable spiral photonic actuators

Combining the multi-faceted environmental responsiveness of polymers with photonically active structures, we developed spiral photonic actuators which can reversibly change both shape and colour in response to the chemical environment.

Wavelength-scalable hollow optical fibres with large photonic bandgaps for CO2 laser transmission

Here we report on the design and drawing of a hollow optical fibre lined with an interior omnidirectional dielectric mirror. Confinement of light in the hollow core is provided by the large photonic bandgaps established by the multiple alter-nating submicrometre-thick layers of a high-refractive-index glass and a low-refractive-index polymer. The fundamental and high-order transmission windows are determined by the layer dimensions and can be scaled from 0.75 to 10.6mm in wavelength.The transmission losses are found to be less than 1.0 dB m 21, orders of magnitude lower than those of the intrinsic fibre material, thus demonstrating that low attenuation can be achieved through structural design rather than high-transparency material selection.

Physical properties of CdS/ITO thin films growth by CBD technique with substrate oscillating agitation

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates were prepared by chemical bath deposition technique by using different conditions to agitate the bath and the substrate. The deposited films were characterized on their morphology, on the band gap energy, and on thickness. The implemented novel technique for substrate oscillation has shown to improve the films quality, by the chemical bath without colloidal precipitates and by the clean film surfaces obtained. CdS films with variable deposition time can be achieved depending on the agitating technique. In addition, by oscillating only the substrate during deposition is possible to obtain clean films and avoid the formation of colloidal precipitates on the chemical bath, normally presented when it is magnetically or ultrasonically agitated.

High Power UV and VUV Pulsed Excilamps

Emission characteristics of a nanosecond discharge in inert gases and its halo-genides without preionization of the gap from an auxiliary source have been investigated. A volume discharge, initiated by an avalanche electron beam (VDIAEB) was realized at pressures up to 12 atm. In xenon at pressure of 1.2 atm, the energy of spontaneous radiation in the full solid angle was 45 mJ/cm 3 , and the FWHM of a radiation pulse was 110ns. The spontaneous radiation power rise in xenon was observed at pressures up to 12 atm.
Pulsed radiant exitance of inert gases halogenides excited by VDIAEB was 4.5 kW/cm 2 at e±ciency up to 5.5 %.

Chemistry

 
Living anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate controlled by metal-free phosphazene catalyst as observed by small-angle neutron scattering, gel permeation chromatography and UV-visible spectroscopy Phosphazene (PZN) catalyst, PZN catalyst coexisting with a co-catalyst 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) have been observed for the first time by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and UV-visible spectroscopy to elucidate the aggregation behavior of the PZN molecules themselves and the state of living chain ends in a living polymer solution.
Electrochemical Synthesis of Conducting Polymers on Carbon Nanotube Films and Its Effect on Electrochemical Capacitance Polyaniline and polypyrrole were considered as pseudocapacitive coatings for carbon nanotube film electrodes. The conducting polymers were deposited electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical effects of the number of voltage cycles and monomer and electrolyte concentrations on film thickness were studied. The effects of the polymer coating on the capacitance of the CNT electrodes were analyzed as well. The final results were evaluated using CV and scanning electron microscopy techniques.
Soluble Narrow Band Gap Polymers
(Dry-Box)
Soluble Narrow Band Gap and Blue Propylenedioxythiophene-Cyanovinylene Polymers as Multifunctional Materials for Photovoltaic and Electrochromic Applications

Bio-Science

 

Human Pigmentation Variation: Evolution, Genetic Basis, and Implications for Public Health
 

Pigmentation, which is primarily deter-mined by the amount, the type, and the distribution of melanin, shows a remarkable diversity in human populations, and in this sense, it is an atypical trait.Numerous
genetic studies have indicated that the average proportion of genetic variation due to differences among major continental groups is just 10–15% of the total genetic variation. In contrast, skin pigmentation shows large differences among continental populations. The reasons for this discrepancy can be traced back primarily to the strong influence of natural selection, which has shaped the distribution of pigmentation according to a latitudinal gradient. Research during the last 5 years has substantially increased our understanding of the genes involved in normal pigmentation variation in human populations. At least six genes have been identified using genotype/phenotype association studies and/or direct functional assays, and there is evidence indicating that several additional genes may be playing a role in skin, hair, and iris pigmentation. The information that is emerging from recent studies points to a complex picture where positive selection has been acting at different genomic locations, and for some genes only in certain population groups.

Extinction Cross-Section Measurements of
Bacillus globigii Aerosols

In a continuing series of experiments designed to determine the spectral extinction cross section of bacterial aerosols,  spectral transmittance was measured as a function of particle concentration, and extinction cross sections were calculated. Visible band measurements of Bacillus globigii aerosols indicated a slight increase in the extinction cross section with increasing wavelength. The extinction cross section was estimated to be 2.58 (±0.25)10 8 cm 2 at the 543-nm wavelength.

Mitochondrial succinic-semialdehyde dehydrogenase of the γ-aminobutyrate shunt is required to restrict levels of reactive oxygen intermediates in plants

The γ-aminobutyrate (GABA) shunt is a metabolic pathway that bypasses two steps of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and it is present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In plants the pathway is composed of the calcium/calmodulin-regulated cytosolic enzyme glutamate decarboxylase and the mitochondrial enzymes GABA transaminase and succinic-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH). The activity of the GABA shunt in plants is rapidly enhanced in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses. However the physiological role of this pathway remains obscure. To elucidate its role in plants, we analyzed Arabidopsis T-DNA knockout mutants of SSADH, the ultimate enzyme of the pathway. Four alleles of the ssadh mutation were isolated, and these exhibited a similar phenotype. When exposed to white light (100 μmol of photons per m2 per s), they appear dwarfed with necrotic lesions. Detailed spectrum analysis revealed that UV-B has the most adverse effect on the mutant phenotype, whereas photosynthetic active range light has a very little effect. The ssadh mutants are also sensitive to heat, as they develop necrosis when submitted to such stress. Moreover, both UV and heat cause a rapid increase in the levels of hydrogen peroxide in the ssadh mutants, which is associated with enhanced cell death. Surprisingly, our study also shows that trichomes are hypersensitive to stresses in ssadh mutants. Our work establishes a role for the GABA shunt in preventing the accumulation of reactive oxygen intermediates and cell death, which appears to be essential for plant defense against environmental stress.

Ablation of Liver Cancer Cells
in Vitro by a Plasma Needle

A plasma needle using a dielectric barrier discharge reactor at atmospheric pressure with a funnel-shaped nozzle was developed. The preliminary characteristics of the plume and applications to the ablation of cultured human hepatocellular carcinoma HCC BEL-7402 cell line are presented.

Process Monitoring and Quality Control

 
Semi-Conductor The MPSS (Multi Probe Spectrophotometer System) is a multi-channel process control monitor used in semi-conductor fabrication and other real-time process applications. 
Alcohol A dual beam process monitor using "Neural Networks" to measure the concentration of alcohol in a process stream.
Film Deposition A multi-channel system used to monitor silver film deposition on a moving roll of plastic using transmission and reflectance.
Dilatometer The "Dilatometer" analytical instrument designed for specifically for polymer chemists.
Colorimeter A triple-channel SpectroColorimeter used as a process Quality Control monitor for plastic injection molding operations.
StellarNet Patents A list of patents filed using StellarNet spectrometers
 
 
       
 

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