Scientists have been widely using spectral devices for scientific research for a long time. Spectrometers transmit radiation from a light source through the test sample. The analysis of the spectrum of the transmitted radiation contains important information for scientists about properties of the substance under study, which makes it possible to purposefully change these properties and create both new materials and devices.
There are spectral devices that register spectrum for almost hours. But how to get a spectrum if we are talking about a short-term flash, the radiation from which lasts, thousandths or millionths of a second and occurs spontaneously, for example, solar flares? How to conduct a research of the effect of powerful laser radiation on a substance with pulse duration of microseconds and less? In certain wavelength ranges, obtaining the radiation spectrum for such short-term and one-time processes is possible only with the help of high-speed spectrometers for the wavelength interval of interest.
The device for studying such short-term radiation was created at the Department of Physics of Ƶ under the guidance of Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Konstantin Ivanov. The device is capable of recording the spectrum in millionths of a second, while the radiation of an object can be single, occur and repeat spontaneously. At the moment device looks quite massive, but research has shown that with a defined orientation of the magnetic field relative to the crystallographic axes of a single crystal, the amplitude value of the pulsed magnetic field can be reduced to several Teslas. “It allows you to reduce the volume of the entire installation to the size of an ordinary book,” explains the author of the development, Professor Konstantin Ivanov of Ƶ.
The device can be used not only in laboratories, but also on board satellites or on probes in the upper atmosphere to study the spectrum of various space objects and the Sun. The installation contains a cooled, high-speed, non-selective radiation receiver in a certain wavelength range. The signal from the receiver is recorded in analog and digital forms on a memory oscilloscope. “The recording time of the spectrum is equal to a quarter of the period of the pulsed magnetic field, while the impact of the radiation source can be single,” explained the operation of the device Professor Konstantin Ivanov.
The developed new physical principle of obtaining the spectrum used in the creation of the spectrometer will allow scientists to register radiation in the infrared, submillimeter and terahertz wavelength ranges. Such devices make it possible to study the physics and chemistry of processes that spontaneously create single and short-term radiation.