READILY CONSTRUCTED MODULAR POLARIZATION-EMISSION SCANNING SPECTROMETER

A modular polarization spectrometry system for the measurement of the degree of polarization (linear or circular) of luminescence intensity is described. It is based on polarization modulation with a photoelast ic modulator and two lock-in amplifiers for signal recovery. Interface d to the spectrometer is a microcomputer configured with CRT monitor, disk drive, and digital printer to provide system control and to permi t digital data storage and data manipulations such as multiple scan av eraging and averaged background subtraction. The system described is c apable of measuring linearly polarized emission, linearly polarized ex citation luminescence, and circularly polarized emission spectra. The modular design also allows the spectrometer to be rapidly and easily m odified for the measurement of circular dichroism, magnetic circular d ichroism, or magnetic circularly polarized emission. The system perfor mance is demonstrated.