Agilent Technologies 8453 Operator's Manual page 12

1 Introduction to Your System
Agilent 8453 Spectrophotometer — Overview
• Stray-Light Correction Filter
• Sample Compartment
• Spectrograph
• Spectrograph Lens
12
In a standard measurement sequence, reference or sample intensity spectra
are measured without and then with the stray-light filter in the light beam.
Without the filter the intensity spectrum over the whole wavelength range
from 190–1100 nm is measured. The stray-light filter is a blocking filter
with 50 % blocking at 420 nm.
With this filter in place any light measured below 400 nm is stray light only.
This stray-light intensity is then subtracted from the first spectrum to give a
stray-light corrected spectrum. Depending on the software, you can switch
off the stray light correction (Agilent ChemStation software) in case you
want to do very fast repetitive scans or it is switched off automatically.
The spectrophotometer has an open sample compartment for easier access
to sample cells. Because of the optical design a cover for the sample area is
not required. The spectrophotometer is supplied with a single-cell holder
already installed in the sample compartment. This can be replaced with the
Peltier temperature control accessory, the thermostattable cell holder, the
long path cell holder or the multicell transport. All of these optional cell
holders mount in the sample compartment using the same quick, simple
mounting system. An optical filter wheel is also available for use with the
spectrophotometer and most of the accessories.
The spectrograph housing material is ceramic to reduce thermal effects to a
minimum. It main components of the spectrograph are the lens, the slit, the
grating and the photo diode array with front-end electronics. The mean
sampling interval of the diode array is about 0.9 nm over the wavelength
range 190 nm to 1100 nm. The nominal spectral slit width is 1 nm.
The spectrograph lens is the first of the parts which are collectively known
as the spectrograph. It is mounted on the housing of the spectrograph. The
spectrograph lens refocuses the collimated light beam after it has passed
through the sample.
Agilent 8453 UV-visible Spectroscopy System Operator's Manual