Thermal Camera-Based Fourier Transform Infrared Thermospectroscopic Imager

In this technical note, we present an advanced thermospectroscopic imager based on a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer and a thermal camera. This new instrument can image both thermal emission and multispectral absorbance fields in a few seconds at a resolution of 4 cm⁻¹ or less. The setup is made of a commercial FT-IR spectrometer (ThermoFisher Nicolet iS50R) synchronized to an IR camera (indium antimonide and strained layer superlattice) as a detector to record the interferograms in each pixel of the images. A fast Fourier transform algorithm with apodization and Mertz phase correction is applied to the images, and the background is rationed to process the interferograms into the absorbance spectra in each pixel. The setup and image processing are validated using thin polystyrene films; during this processing, more than 1750 spectra per second are recorded. A spectral resolution equivalent to that of commercial FT-IR spectrometers is obtained for absorbance peaks valued less than two. The transient capability of the FT-IR thermospectroscopic imager is illustrated by measuring the heterogeneous thermal and absorbance fields during the phase change of paraffin over a few minutes. The complete mechanism of the thermochemical processes during a polymer solidification is revealed through the thermospectroscopic images, demonstrating the usefulness of such an instrument in studying fast transient thermal and chemical phenomena with an improved spectral resolution.