Handheld IR Spectrometer

Emission Spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the identification of mineralogical samples and has been used for decades in labs to study the geology of Earth and Mars. However, the instruments needed to make these measurements are large, expensive and sensitive pieces of equipment that are too cumbersome to use in the field. There are some commercial products that attempt to work in the field, however they perform this task poorly, often resulting in limited applications, poor performance or not being truly portable. My thesis utilizes the TES family of planetary instruments as a source of inspiration for creating a truly portable Fourier Transform InfraRed spectrometer. From this initial design phase, it appears that it is possible to build an instrument with vastly improved capabilities over the current systems on the market. This roughly 12 inch by 7 inch by 8 inch device with a 3-inch diameter telescope is capable of achieving a SNR of over 1000 during a 5 minute scan of a sample allowing for 5 sigma (99.99994% Confidence) identification of 1% spectral features from 5 um to >60 um making this instrument a one of a kind device with high application potential, not only for field geologist but for the future of manned exploration of space. Currently an accurate measurement of costs is not available, however with more development and optimization a total cost of around $50K is feasible while still maintaining the same performance characteristics. If the costs can fall within an acceptable range, this device will not only be technically impressible but viable from a financial standpoint as well.