FTIR Tutorial

This is the method setup screen, with the Basic tab selected.

Settings you need to note are circled in red:

• Resolution - This affects the speed at which you can acquire data ( high res= slow scan ), S/N and of course, the final resolution. Leave this at 4cm^-1 for now. This is by far the most commonly used resolution.

• Number of Scans : Firstly, you MUST use the same number for both background and sample. The number of scans directly affects the quality of spectrum you will get. More scans gives higher quality spectra. However, collecting more scans also takes more time.

  In our case, we won't need many scans to get a good spectrum; set the number of scans to 32, for both sample and background.

• IR Data Type: Set this to sample single beam, as shown above. If you use another mode, such as transmittance, as many people do, you will have less control on how the spectral background is removed. In order to avoid this, use the sample single beam method, which preserves your raw data at all times for you.

Then click the 'Advanced' tab, and the next page will show the settings on this page.

Back  Continue