Spectroscopy in the NIR and SWIR

Non-invasive spectroscopy techniques in the Near Infrared (NIR) and Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) can provide deeper, non-invasive probing capabilities for biological samples, increase accuracy of Raman-based organic molecules/biological samples analysis by minimizing autofluorescence background, or be used for quality control in the Pharmaceutical and Food industry.

Fluorescence/Photoluminescence, Raman, Absorption and pump-probe spectroscopy in the NIR/SWIR also allow the investigation of the optical, electronics and structural properties of advanced materials and nanostructures such as low bandgap semiconductors, quantum sources or NIR biotags.

Spectroscopy Detectors Adapted to your Needs

Andor’s range of CCD, InGaAs, sCMOS and ICCD detectors offer a wide range of sensitivity, dynamic range, acquisition rate, time-resolution and sensor formats to best suit specific experimental conditions in the NIR and SWIR up to 2.2 microns. While silicon-based detectors can detect effectively photons up to around 1.1 μm, InGaAs-based detector will provide a solution for detection in the 1 to 2.2 μm region. If you are an integrator/OEM please click here.

High Sensitivity & Dynamic Range

High QE >80%, low noise
Large pixel well depths
High resolution matrix

ns to µs
Time-Resolution (NIR)

Nanosecond gating
High sensitivity down to single photon
On-head DDG with ps accuracy

kHz Spectral
Rates (NIR)

µs to ms time-resolution
High sensitivity down to single photon
High resolution matrix

Extended Multi-fibre Spectroscopy (NIR)

Large area sensors
Ultrafast sCMOS options
High sensitivity down to single photon

Spectroscopy and Optical Cryostat Solutions

NIR (Near-Infrared) and SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared) spectroscopy are powerful analytical techniques used in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food and beverages, environmental and materials science.

These non-destructive methods go beyond identification of the molecular composition of samples and can give information on physical properties and material characteristics of complex substances through glass and plastic and deep into biological tissue.

Kymera Spectrographs

Highly versatile and configurable platforms, patented Adapted Focus

Shamrock Spectrographs

Higher resolution and platforms down to 0.02 nm, highly configurable

Optical Cyostats

LN2, He or Cryo-free, <3K - 500K options, macro- and micro configs

Spectroscopy Software Solutions

Solis Acquisition Software - A 32-bit and fully 64-bit enabled application for Windows (8, 8.1 and 10) offering rich functionality for data acquisition and processing, as well as Andor cameras, spectrograph and motorized accessories simultaneous control.

Find out more

SDK - A SDK that allows you to control the Andor range of spectrographs from your own application. Compatible as 32-bit and 64-bit libraries for Windows (8, 8.1 and 10). Compatible with C/C++, C#, VB.NET and LabVIEW for Windows/Linux.

Find out more

µ-Manager for Micro-spectroscopy - Integrated modular micro-spectroscopy setup control popular with the Life Science community. All market leading motorized microscope and accessories seamlessly controlled and maintained. Integrated sequence builder & macro interfaces for complex experiments building.

Find out more Download plug-in

Applications and Techniques

NIR and SWIR is typically defined as a wavelength range spanning from 700 nm to 3 μm. Molecular and Atomic optical spectroscopy techniques can probe the chemical signatures and characteristics of a variety of samples which properties can be only be probed in this spectral region, or which properties can be probed with a higher degree of accuracy in the NIR-SWIR region compared to other spectral ranges. Typical optical spectroscopy techniques include in particular raman, fluorescence/photoluminescence, pump-probe/transient absorption, absorbance/transmittance/reflectance, or LIBS.

Advanced Materials

Spectroscopy can be used to characterise the optical, electronics or mechanical properties of a wide range of materials, from nanoscale low-dimensional materials to macro-scale wafers. These include semiconductors e.g. low bandgap types, transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDs), thin films perovskite, quantum dots, organic LEDs (OLEDs), as well as vacancy-centre based quantum sources, carbon nanotubes, functionalised molecules or metamaterials.

Impurities/doping, structural stress and defects, emission/absorption properties, bandgap measurement of assessment of number of layers can be probed by a variety of techniques in the NIR/SWIR including photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, raman, transient absorption (characterisation of short-lived excited states), second harmonic generation (SHG) or diffuse scattering.

Andor spectrographs, high Sensitivity NIR-SWIR detectors and cryostat solutions provide seamlessly configurable workhorse platforms to cater for setups with multiple type of spectroscopy modalities and/or material types.

Browse application resources

Chemistry

The study of chemical species makeup and their behaviour in different environments can be probed by a variety of optical spectroscopy techniques including raman and Luminescence/Fluorescence, as well as pump-probe ultrafast raman/transient absorption/emission spectroscopies to understand specifically electronic and structural properties of short-lived excited states (transient states) of molecules.

This give researchers tools to better understand the transformation processes of chemical species (reactants) to new chemical species (products) through their optical signature with high degree of specificity or study the effect of light absorption by chemical species on their chemical and physical properties (photochemistry and photophysics).

Andor NIR CCD, high frame rate sCMOS and nanosecond gated ICCD detectors provide solutions for the different processes study timeframes involved. Our spectrographs can also combine with streak cameras to access time-resolutions in the sub-nanosecond regime.

Browse application resources

Bio-materials

Spectroscopy techniques including raman, brillouin, fluorescence or diffuse reflectance provide powerful tools for the study of chemical and structural properties of biological, organic samples e.g. cells, tissues or viruses/pathogens. NIR photons allow deeper probing into these biological due to their greater penetration depth, and also provide higher diagnostics accuracy for Raman-based techniques by moving away from the unwanted autofluorescence background of these samples.

These can be used for non-invasive cancer and disease diagnostics with a high degree of specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility and speed/throughput. Some techniques are also increasingly applied to real-time diagnostics in vivo, providing for example feedback to surgeon during intraoperative procedures to ensure full removal of cancerous tissues.

Spectroscopy techniques can also be used to characterise increasingly popular NIR biomarkers (e.g. NIR quantum dots) and functionalised molecules for targeted therapeutic treatments. LIBS chemical mapping can also be used to determine the elemental composition of trace species and help understand specific functions of biostructures.

Browse application resources

Process Control, QA/QC

Spectroscopy techniques can be deployed in industrial environments to provide non-invasive, rapid feedback on efficiency of processes e.g. on-line monitoring of petrochemicals or manufactured/synthesized products quality e.g. tablets in the pharmaceutical industry (mapping of active components distribution), wafer quality control in the semiconductor industry (identification of defects/stress).

Raman spectroscopy provides for example highly specific information on the chemical make-up of a variety of samples in different environment. In the NIR Raman can be used to probe chemical species through opaque (and potentially fluorescent) materials using surface offset raman spectroscopy (SORS).

Photoluminescence and raman spectroscopy can be used to provide spatially-resolved feedback on defects, impurities or stress in wafers that can subsequently impact the performance of semiconductor device.

Andor high sensitivity NIR detectors and spectrographs provide tools for high accuracy, high throughput measurements of liquid, gas or materials chemical properties for maximum productivity in various industries. If you are an OEM please click here.

Free NIR & SWIR Spectroscopy eBook

Delve into the world of NIR and SWIR spectroscopy with Andor's latest eBook. Learn about various applications and the advantages on offer to your area of research.

Download Free eBook