Spektrometer

Spektrometer, or spectrometer in English, is an instrument used to measure and analyze the spectral properties of light or other electromagnetic radiation. It determines how a signal’s intensity varies with wavelength, frequency, or, in some variants, mass-to-charge ratio. While the term covers a range of devices, optical spectrometers are the most common, with mass spectrometers forming a related but distinct class that analyzes ions by their mass-to-charge ratio.

In optical spectrometry, a dispersive element such as a diffraction grating or prism spreads incoming light into a spectrum. An entrance slit defines the light aperture, a collimator produces a parallel beam, and a detector records the dispersed radiation. Depending on configuration, the instrument can measure emission spectra, absorption spectra, or reflectance spectra. Spectral resolution—the ability to distinguish close wavelengths—depends on the dispersion element, slit width, and detector characteristics, as well as the geometry of the optics.

Detectors range fromPhotomultiplier tubes and photodiodes to array devices like charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. Modern spectrometers often acquire full spectra with little or no mechanical scanning. Data are processed to produce spectra and may be used to determine concentrations via calibration methods such as the Beer-Lambert law, among other analytical techniques.

Types include optical spectrometers operating in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared ranges, as well as Raman and Fourier-transform spectrometers. More broadly, the term encompasses instruments used in astronomy, chemistry, materials science, environmental monitoring, and quality control.