Multivariate optical computing, also known as molecular factor computing, is an approach to the development of compressed sensing spectroscopic instruments, particularly for industrial applications such as process analytical support. "Conventional" spectroscopic methods often employ multivariate and chemometric methods, such as multivariate calibration, pattern recognition, and classification, to extract analytical information (including concentration) from data collected at many different wavelengths. Multivariate optical computing uses an optical computer to analyze the data as it is collected. The goal of this approach is to produce instruments which are simple and rugged, yet retain the benefits of multivariate techniques for the accuracy and precision of the result.
An instrument which implements this approach may be described as a multivariate optical computer. Since it describes an approach, rather than any specific wavelength range, multivariate optical computers may be built using a variety of different instruments (including Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) [1] and Raman [2] ).
The "software" in multivariate optical computing is encoded directly into an optical element spectral calculation engine such as an interference filter based multivariate optical element (MOE), holographic grating, liquid crystal tunable filter, spatial light modulator (SLM), or digital micromirror device (DMD) and is specific to the particular application. The optical pattern for the spectral calculation engine is designed for the specific purpose of measuring the magnitude of that multi-wavelength pattern in the spectrum of a sample, without actually measuring a spectrum. [3]
Multivariate optical computing allows instruments to be made with the mathematics of pattern recognition designed directly into an optical computer, which extracts information from light without recording a spectrum. This makes it possible to achieve the speed, dependability, and ruggedness necessary for real time, in-line process control instruments.
Multivariate optical computing encodes an analog optical regression vector of a transmission function for an optical element. Light which emanates from a sample contains the spectral information of that sample, whether the spectrum is discovered or not. As light passes from a sample through the element, the normalized intensity, which is detected by a broad band detector, is proportional to the dot product of the regression vector with that spectrum, i.e. is proportional to the concentration of the analyte for which the regression vector was designed. The quality of the analysis is then equal to the quality of the regression vector which is encoded. If the resolution of the regression vector is encoded to the resolution of the laboratory instrument from which that regression vector was designed and the resolution of the detector is equivalent, then the measurement made by Multivariate Optical Computing will be equivalent to that laboratory instrument by conventional means. The technique is making headway in a niche market for harsh environment detection. Specifically the technique has been adopted for use in the oil industry for detection of hydrocarbon composition in oil wells and pipeline monitoring. In such situations, laboratory quality measurements are necessary, but in harsh environments. [4]
Although the concept of using a single optical element for analyte regression and detection was suggested in 1986, [5] the first full MOC concept device was published in 1997 from the Myrick group at the University of South Carolina, [6] with a subsequent demonstration in 2001. [7] The technique has received much recognition in the optics industry as a new method to perform optical analysis with advantages for harsh environment sensing. [4] [7] [8] [9] [10] The technique has been applied to Raman spectroscopy, [2] [11] [12] fluorescence spectroscopy, [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] absorbance spectroscopy in the UV-Vis, [7] [20] NIR [21] [22] [23] and MIR, [24] [25] microscopy, [26] reflectance spectroscopy [27] and hyperspectral imaging. [11] [20] [22] [23] [27] [28] [29] In the years since first demonstration, applications have been demonstrated for defence, [30] forensics, [31] monitoring of chemical reactions, [6] [32] environmental monitoring, [8] [33] [34] recycling, [21] [35] food and drug, [28] [36] medical and life sciences, [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] and the petroleum industry. [4] [10] [25] [32] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] The first published demonstration for use of MOC in the harsh environments, was 2012 with a laboratory study with temperatures from 150F to 350F and pressures from 3000psi to 20,000psi, [10] followed in 2013 with field trials in oil wells. [42]
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
An optical spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the irradiance of the light but could also, for instance, be the polarization state. The independent variable is usually the wavelength of the light or a closely derived physical quantity, such as the corresponding wavenumber or the photon energy, in units of measurement such as centimeters, reciprocal centimeters, or electron volts, respectively.
Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Raman spectroscopy is commonly used in chemistry to provide a structural fingerprint by which molecules can be identified.
Chemometrics is the science of extracting information from chemical systems by data-driven means. Chemometrics is inherently interdisciplinary, using methods frequently employed in core data-analytic disciplines such as multivariate statistics, applied mathematics, and computer science, in order to address problems in chemistry, biochemistry, medicine, biology and chemical engineering. In this way, it mirrors other interdisciplinary fields, such as psychometrics and econometrics.
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a spectroscopic method that uses the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Typical applications include medical and physiological diagnostics and research including blood sugar, pulse oximetry, functional neuroimaging, sports medicine, elite sports training, ergonomics, rehabilitation, neonatal research, brain computer interface, urology, and neurology. There are also applications in other areas as well such as pharmaceutical, food and agrochemical quality control, atmospheric chemistry, combustion research and knowledge.
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a type of atomic emission spectroscopy which uses a highly energetic laser pulse as the excitation source. The laser is focused to form a plasma, which atomizes and excites samples. The formation of the plasma only begins when the focused laser achieves a certain threshold for optical breakdown, which generally depends on the environment and the target material.
Hyperspectral imaging collects and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. The goal of hyperspectral imaging is to obtain the spectrum for each pixel in the image of a scene, with the purpose of finding objects, identifying materials, or detecting processes. There are three general types of spectral imagers. There are push broom scanners and the related whisk broom scanners, which read images over time, band sequential scanners, which acquire images of an area at different wavelengths, and snapshot hyperspectral imagers, which uses a staring array to generate an image in an instant.
Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) or scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) is a microscopy technique for nanostructure investigation that breaks the far field resolution limit by exploiting the properties of evanescent waves. In SNOM, the excitation laser light is focused through an aperture with a diameter smaller than the excitation wavelength, resulting in an evanescent field on the far side of the aperture. When the sample is scanned at a small distance below the aperture, the optical resolution of transmitted or reflected light is limited only by the diameter of the aperture. In particular, lateral resolution of 6 nm and vertical resolution of 2–5 nm have been demonstrated.
Chemical imaging is the analytical capability to create a visual image of components distribution from simultaneous measurement of spectra and spatial, time information. Hyperspectral imaging measures contiguous spectral bands, as opposed to multispectral imaging which measures spaced spectral bands.
A multivariate optical element (MOE), is the key part of a multivariate optical computer; an alternative to conventional spectrometry for the chemical analysis of materials.
Transmission Raman spectroscopy (TRS) is a variant of Raman spectroscopy which is advantageous in probing bulk content of diffusely scattering samples. Although it was demonstrated in the early days of Raman spectroscopy it was not exploited in practical settings until much later, probably due to limitations of technology at the time. It was rediscovered in 2006, where the authors showed that it was capable of allowing Raman spectroscopy through many millimetres of tabletted or powdered samples. In addition, this research has also identified several highly beneficial analytical properties of this approach, including the ability to probe bulk content of powders and tissue in the absence of subsampling and to reject Raman and fluorescence components originating from the surface of the sample.
The Unscrambler X is a commercial software product for multivariate data analysis, used for calibration of multivariate data which is often in the application of analytical data such as near infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, and development of predictive models for use in real-time spectroscopic analysis of materials. The software was originally developed in 1986 by Harald Martens and later by CAMO Software.
Integral field spectrographs (IFS) combine spectrographic and imaging capabilities in the optical or infrared wavelength domains (0.32 μm – 24 μm) to get from a single exposure spatially resolved spectra in a bi-dimensional region. The name originates from the fact that the measurements result from integrating the light on multiple sub-regions of the field. Developed at first for the study of astronomical objects, this technique is now also used in many other fields, such bio-medical science and Earth remote sensing. Integral field spectrography is part of the broader category of snapshot hyperspectral imaging techniques, itself a part of hyperspectral imaging.
A liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) is an optical filter that uses electronically controlled liquid crystal (LC) elements to transmit a selectable wavelength of light and exclude others. Often, the basic working principle is based on the Lyot filter but many other designs can be used. The main difference with the original Lyot filter is that the fixed wave plates are replaced by switchable liquid crystal wave plates.
Paul J. Gemperline is an American analytical chemist and chemometrician. He is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at East Carolina University (ECU) located in Greenville, North Carolina and has been the recipient of several scientific awards, including the 2003 Eastern Analytical Symposium Award in Chemometrics. He is author of more than 60 publications in the field of chemometrics. Dr. Gemperline served as Dean of the Graduate School at ECU from 2008 to 2022. He retired from ECU June 30, 2022 and is now professor emeritus.
The technique of vibrational analysis with scanning probe microscopy allows probing vibrational properties of materials at the submicrometer scale, and even of individual molecules. This is accomplished by integrating scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and vibrational spectroscopy. This combination allows for much higher spatial resolution than can be achieved with conventional Raman/FTIR instrumentation. The technique is also nondestructive, requires non-extensive sample preparation, and provides more contrast such as intensity contrast, polarization contrast and wavelength contrast, as well as providing specific chemical information and topography images simultaneously.
The computed tomography imaging spectrometer (CTIS) is a snapshot imaging spectrometer which can produce in fine the three-dimensional hyperspectral datacube of a scene.
Diffuse optical imaging (DOI) is a method of imaging using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) or fluorescence-based methods. When used to create 3D volumetric models of the imaged material DOI is referred to as diffuse optical tomography, whereas 2D imaging methods are classified as diffuse optical imaging.
Photon etc. is a Canadian manufacturer of infrared cameras, widely tunable optical filters, hyperspectral imaging and spectroscopic scientific instruments for academic and industrial applications. Its main technology is based on volume Bragg gratings, which are used as filters either for swept lasers or for global imaging.
The NIRSpec is one of the four scientific instruments flown on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The JWST is the follow-on mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and is developed to receive more information about the origins of the universe by observing infrared light from the first stars and galaxies. In comparison to HST, its instruments will allow looking further back in time and will study the so-called Dark Ages during which the universe was opaque, about 150 to 800 million years after the Big Bang.