Fluorescence spectrometer FL1000

The client's brief was a luminescence spectrometer (fluorimeter) with a dual excitation and dual emission monochromator. The specification parameters were detectors for steady-state fluorescence measurements of liquid samples, time-resolved fluorescence measurements and the ability to detect singlet oxygen phosphorescence (λ=1275 nm) - both in steady-state and time-resolved mode.

In the context of time-resolved fluorescence (range of at least 220-850 nm), the instrument needed to be able to detect (after signal deconvolution) events with lifetimes from a minimum of 10 ps up to 100 ms. The instrument also had to contain the following excitation sources: a xenon lamp, a microsecond xenon lamp and a set of laser sources covering the range from 375 to 730 nm.

For this task, we chose the FLS1000 modular photoluminescence spectrometer with dual monochromators and a set of lasers that allow operation in both continuous and pulsed mode. In addition to measuring steady-state luminescence spectra, this highly sensitive instrument can also monitor fluorescence and phosphorescence lifetimes. The system includes a hybrid detector for measuring fast processes with lifetimes from 10 ps and a thermoelectrically cooled NIR photomultiplier for measuring singlet oxygen phosphorescence.