Mapping Measurement of Paints and Pigments with Thermoelectrically Cooled MCT Detector

User Benefits

- A thermoelectrically cooled MCT detector and mapping software (optional product) can be used for mapping measurement of microscopic samples without the need for liquid nitrogen. - Mapping measurement can create composite chemical images showing the distribution of paint and pigment constituents in a sample.

Introduction

Automobiles are coated with multiple layers of paint, each with a specific purpose and composition. So paint fragments at the scene of a traffic accident can provide critical information for forensic investigations. Infrared microscopy can analyze fragments that retain this multi-layer structure to identify the component constituents in each paint layer, and this can be used to identify the specific model and year of manufacture of an automobile involved in an accident. Infrared microscopy is also used in scientific studies of valuable historical works of art to identify the pigment components and their distribution. This can reveal what techniques were used to create them, and it can assist in selecting the techniques and materials used to restore and conserve them. The thermoelectrically cooled MCT (TEC MCT) detector is a new optional detector for infrared microscopes that can measure microscopic targets as small as 25 μm with high resolution and without requiring liquid nitrogen. But while AIMsight infrared microscope and the AIRsight infrared Raman microscope are equipped as standard with a T2SL detector, which can measure microscopic targets down to 10 μm, they require liquid nitrogen to do so. Due to the difficulty of procuring it and the dangers it can pose of frostbite and oxygen displacement, there is an increasing demand for analytical options that avoid using liquid nitrogen. In this article, an infrared microscopy system equipped with a TEC MCT detector was used for a mapping measurement of an automobile coating and organic pigments.

January 6, 2025 GMT