Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy: Computer Interfacing and Software Development for a Boxcar-Based Laser-Luminescence Spectrometer

Abstract

The undesirable resistance-capacitance (RC) distortion coming from the exponential moving averaging process of a boxcar integrator/averager acquisition system in kinetic and spectral luminescence measurements could be effectively eliminated by interfacing it to a microcomputer. Accurate acquisition of luminescence decay curves and time-resolved spectra was provided by a developed software that allows synchronous scan control of the gate delay time in the boxcar integrator with the emission wavelength in the monochromator. Some simple mathematical calculation routines, including excited-state lifetime extraction from luminescence decay curves and normalization of time-resolved spectra, were added. The main characteristics of both the software and the interfacing hardware are reported.

Keywords

Luminescence Time-resolved spectroscopy Luminescence instrumentation Luminescence decay curves Luminescence lifetime measurement Boxcar integrator Computer application Data acquisition software

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