.

There's no two ways about it! NIRQuest offers performance improvement over previous generations of NIR spectrometers and we've got the proof.

We compared NIRQuest's performance to previous NIR models and discovered that NIRQuest delivered improved throughput, better noise performance and higher sensitivity than ever before.

Plus, with more options, external triggering and excellent signal-to-noise performance, NIRQuest is the smart, flexible solution to your NIR analysis needs.

Improved Throughput

NIRQuest delivers 20% higher throughput than the NIR512 spectrometer. With higher throughput, the system is more sensitive. For some applications, that means shorter integration times are needed to collect signal.

NIRQuest512 vs. NIR512: 20% greater throughput >1100 nm

Noise Improvement

NIRQuest has 2-3x better noise performance than the NIR512 spectrometer. With noise diminished, you can integrate for longer periods of time without interfering with your data. Also, detecting smaller changes in absorbance is possible with improved performance (light sources and detectors notwithstanding).

3X Noise Improvement at 10 Second Integration Time

Improved Sensitivity

NIRQuest provides greater sensitivity in both its 512- and 256-element versions. Higher sensitivity allows you to integrate for longer periods with less noise interference and provides better signal-to-noise performance. For the NIRQuest512, we measured Noise Equivalent Power (NEP) of <0.5 picowatts at 1550 nm with 100 ms integration time. For the NIRQuest256-2.5, we measured NEP of ~25 picowatts at 2050 nm with 30 ms integration time.

The Rest of the Story...

More Grating Options
Flexibility is a good thing. With more grating choices, you can better optimize your spectrometer setup. We now offer several gratings covering various NIR ranges, with different groove densities and blaze wavelengths. If one of our standard options doesn’t meet your needs, you’re not out of the ballgame – chances are good we can configure a system that will work for you.

Excellent Signal to Noise Performance
S:N ranges from >15000:1 in the NIRQuest512 to 7500:1 in the NIRQuest256-2.5. The improvement is most pronounced in the 512, where the previous system was ~4000:1. The higher the SNR, the better able you are to detect low light levels, such as in some emission measurements. Also, you can use a small slit size to improve optical resolution yet not have to worry about the effect on throughput. And with higher S:N (and low detector noise), you can more effectively measure high-concentration samples.

External Triggering
The NIRQuest external trigger has a fixed 1-ms delay after an external event (like a laser firing) and before the spectrometer begins integrating. This makes it much simpler to synchronize the event to the acquisition, so you’re always sampling at the same “place” (interval) in time.

Thermoelectric Cooling Stability
NIRQuest is as much as twice as fast in reaching thermoelectric stability as our previous offering. The NIRQuest TEC stabilizes in ~2 minutes to save setup time. One mitigating factor: If you’re using a light source, you may wait several minutes for the source to become stable.

More Accessories to Complement Your Application
In the time since our first-generation NIR spectrometers, we’ve added dozens more fiber optic accessories including Low OH content fiber with good NIR response and wavelength calibration sources with more emission lines in the NIR region of interest.