Broadband Low-Coherence Scatterometer

The US Air Force has noted a need for a tool for broadband (300 nm2m) measurement of optical propagation properties such as absorption and scattering coefficients. A simple and inexpensive generic tool for extracting these properties from samples would be beneficial to many areas of both DoD and general scientific and industrial research. The present proposal seeks to develop a commercial instrument out of collaboration between Spectabit Optics LLC with expertise in broadband light scattering for non-destructive testing and the Applied Optics Laboratory headed by Dr. Euiwon Bae at Purdue University with expertise in broadband light scattering for biosensing applications. We will identify the technology needed to meet the Air Force's requirements using experimental work in broadband low-coherence scatterometry and detailed analysis of technology available for the essential system components.