High-Resolution Spectroscopy Using an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter and a Fiber-Optic Fabry-Perot Interferometer

Abstract

A compact, solid-state, high-resolution spectrometer consisting of an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) and a fiber-optic Fabry-Perot (FFP) interferometer has been developed. The system has been designed for high-resolution inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) applications. A description of the AOTF-FFP and its performance is presented. The resolution of the AOTF-FFP was determined by measuring the physical widths of ICP emission lines using a 1.5-m-focal-length grating spectrometer and deconvoluting the physical line shapes from the acquired AOTF-FFP spectra. Over the optimum range of the FFP mirror coatings, the resolution is sufficient for the determination of isotopic and hyperfine emission features in ICP-AES experiments, and approaches that of the 1.5-m spectrometer. The application of the AOTF-FFP to the determination of uranium isotopes (U-235 and U-238) introduced into the ICP is presented.