 — a publication of Strategic Directions International, Inc. (SDI), which is a consulting and market intelligence firm specializing in this market — the total worldwide market for analytical and life science instrumentation and related aftermarket and service revenues was estimated at $32.8 billion in 2006. This represented an overall increase in industry revenues of 6.5% from 2005. As with the recent past, some uncertainty still persists. The world continues to struggle with high oil prices; political turmoil persists in the Middle East; and the political situation in the U.S. might portend changes in government funding and attitude toward international trade and investment. The pharmaceutical industry appears to be entering a period of profound change as it relates to R&D, manufacturing logistics, pricing, and marketing approaches. The long-term impact on the laboratory analytical industry has yet to be determined. And will China and India prove to be the "horn of plenty" that many desire? With all this in mind, SDI still projects a similar but slightly lower overall industry revenue increase in 2007 of just over 6%. 

The year 2006 was characterized by moderate shifts in the focus of instrument companies occasioned by changing demand conditions in North America and Asia. More emphasis is now being given to opportunities across Asia, especially in China and India, and because Japan's economy has improved significantly. North America, while still the largest instrument market, demands less attention as growth will come elsewhere, but customer satisfaction cannot be shortchanged. Thermo Electron's (Waltham, Massachusetts) acquisition of Fisher Scientific is designed to address customer needs in a holistic manner, by offering one-stop shopping. And while big pharma might not be the bonanza of former years, the rest of pharma and biotech in general offer many opportunities. A host of fast liquid chromatography (LC) product introductions will likely impact the mass spectrometry (MS) market, as LC–MS instruments will have significantly enhanced sample introduction. The European Reduction in Hazardous Substance regulations (RoHS) went into effect and the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) market boomed as manufacturers worldwide worked to "get the lead out" of their circuit boards. Thermo Electron benefited greatly from its acquisition of handheld XRF manufacturer Niton, and others like Bruker BioSciences (Billerica, Massachusetts) joined the fray. Agilent Technologies (Palo Alto, California) bought out its joint venture partner Yokogawa Analytical to enhance its prospect in Japan and for inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS, while X-Rite (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and Amazys merged to change the market dynamics in color measurement. Actually, for an established industry, 2006 was a momentous year. 

There is also a growing interest in the aftermarket aspect of the industry revenue mix, which includes such areas as consumables, software updates, and accessories. This is in recognition of the growing importance of those areas as the market expands and matures. In fact, in some market segments, the aftermarket is growing faster than instrument system revenues and is often more profitable. So it should be noted that all the revenue projections in this article include the total mix of revenue sources: instrument system sales, aftermarket, and service.  

Figure 1: 2006 spectroscopy market by sector ($7.2 billion).			

The spectroscopy market can be segmented into three distinct sectors: molecular spectroscopy, atomic spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. The applications of the techniques included in each sector and their prospects differ significantly, even within each sector. Worldwide revenues for all spectroscopy segments is estimated at $7.2 billion for 2006, or about 22% of the entire laboratory analytical and life science instrument market. The overall spectroscopy market is estimated to have grown 7.2% in 2006, over a full percentage point better than what we had forecasted last year. SDI projects 2007 growth for the spectroscopy market to be similar to 2006, increasing about 6.5%, which suggests that this market actually will exceed total laboratory market growth, as it did in 2006. 

Molecular spectroscopy techniques account for about 40% of the spectroscopy market, although many diverse techniques are represented that address a wide range of applications in almost every industry category. Atomic spectroscopy is the second largest sector at almost 33%, while MS represents slightly more than 27% of spectroscopy revenues. Please note that LC and gas chromatography (GC) front-ends to mass spectrometers and their associated aftermarket and service revenues are not included in market revenue estimates.  

Figure 2: 2006 molecular spectroscopy market by technique.			

The market for molecular spectroscopy is estimated at $2.9 billion for 2006. Overall, the total revenues for all categories of molecular spectroscopy grew 5.9% in 2006. However, there were significant differences in growth among the various instrumental techniques, led by the continuing success of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) segment. No single technique dominates this market, but three segments — NMR, UV–vis, and infrared (IR) — account for slightly more than 72% of the overall molecular spectroscopy market. 

Molecular spectroscopy instruments are especially focused on the important life science industries, including the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and the agriculture, food and beverage industries, which account for about 34% of the market. Organic chemicals, academia, and government sectors account for an additional 30% of revenues, much of which is also life science–oriented. But molecular spectroscopy techniques have an enormous range of applications, so they can be found in every industry segment, including environmental testing and polymer manufacturing.  

Figure 3: 2006 atomic spectroscopy market by technique.			

Although NMR spectroscopy is the largest segment of the molecular spectroscopy market at well over $800 million in annual revenues, it is also one of the fastest growing sectors, still increasing at around 10% annually. NMR is an important technique that provides information on the structural analysis of organic molecules, particularly proteins. Some of the demand in recent years has been fueled by the availability of much more powerful instruments with new features and unparalleled performance. These new instruments incorporate extremely powerful superconducting magnets to improve upon analytical performance that is already very high. These new instruments also carry very high price tags, which contribute to excellent revenue gains each year. However, recently there has been renewed interest in the development of midrange instruments (400-MHz units) that are lower cost alternatives to these expensive instruments while providing significantly better resolution than existing 300-MHz instruments. 

The NMR market comprises a number of related instrument types, including high-field NMR, hyphenated NMR, low-field (fixed-magnet) NMR, imaging NMR, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). High-field NMR and hyphenated NMR (mostly LC–NMR) are pharmaceutical- and biotech-oriented with a focus on structural analysis. Low-field instruments are designed for quality control application, especially for moisture and fat-content analysis in foodstuffs. NMR imaging systems are applicable in clinical and biotech settings for combined imaging and spectral analysis of samples and organisms. EPR is the only technique that can identify unpaired electrons unambiguously, which makes it a useful technique for the analysis of free radicals, transition metals, and material defects. All of these techniques exhibit growth of 7–10%. High-field NMR is by far the largest segment at around 70% of the market.  

Figure 4: 2006 MS market by technique.			

UV–vis spectrophotometers make up the second largest segment of the molecular spectroscopy market, but also one of the slowest growing segments. Today, with so many different models and makes on the market, and at relatively low price points, this is a classic commodity market. Low-end instruments are experiencing reduced demand except in environmental testing, where such instruments are tied to prepackaged reagents and kits. Scanning UV–vis and diode-array instruments, faster and more powerful instruments at marginally higher prices, offer the best prospects for replacing older, lower performing instruments as they are retired. 

IR and near-infrared (NIR) instruments represent about 26% of the molecular spectroscopy market, and both are experiencing moderate growth at about 5%. These days, the IR market is composed primarily of Fourier-transform (FT) instruments as opposed to dispersive units, and many are outfitted with microscopes for targeting. FT-IR instruments are more suited to inorganic analysis, while NIR instruments are better for organic analysis. Accordingly, both IR and NIR spectroscopy find use in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and organic chemicals industries, which will help to provide consistently moderate growth, although NIR also sees strong demand from the agriculture and food industries. Tangential growth for IR, and particularly for NIR, will come from process applications outside the laboratory in areas such as food process monitoring and process analytical technology (PAT) in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The development of these uses outside the laboratory market will lead to a moderate increase in demand for both IR and NIR in methods development applications in the laboratory.  

Table I: Spectroscopy product growth prospects for 2007			

Colorimetry, or color measurement, will see moderate growth of around 4% because it is closely tied to industrial activity. Colorimetry is most heavily used in industries such as printing —graphics, textiles, paints, and pigments — where it is needed to maintain consistent color in publications and consumer products, although there is some use in the food and pharmaceutical industries, where color is an indicator of food quality and dosage amounts. More advanced color spectrophotometers have now taken over the colorimetry market, with the market for filter colorimeters rapidly declining. 

Spectrofluorometers and luminometers are expected to experience marginal growth of about 3%, as microplate readers with multiformat technologies including fluorescence and luminescence command a larger share of the market because they can handle much higher sample throughputs. Fluorescence sensitivity offers advantages for in-situ analysis, such as live cells, which makes it popular in clinical applications. It is especially good at detecting small changes in ion concentrations.  

Figure 5: Spectroscopy market by product segment.			

Raman spectroscopy, a specialty technique, continues to experience above-average demand, with growth in 2007 expected to approach 10%. Raman is very adept at analyzing compounds that contain nonpolar bonds, which is ideal for polymer analysis. Raman is also very useful in the characterization of pharmaceutical excipients, as well as final dosage forms, and it also can analyze chemical structures. Raman is very complementary to FT-IR, but it has the advantage of being much less affected by the presence of moisture. 

The market for atomic spectroscopy instruments is robust and is predicted to grow at well over 5% in 2007, consistent with the trend of the last few years. However, within this $2.4 billion market, there are significant differences among the various product segments. Market demand for atomic spectroscopy instrumentation has been particularly impacted by the boom in minerals and metals prices, as well as by recently enacted environmental regulations, although these positive effects differ based upon the capabilities and usefulness of individual spectroscopic methods to meet analytical requirements. In addition to application-based market forces, the expanding markets in China, India, and other emerging market countries are shifting the regional demand that suppliers are attempting to address.  

Figure 6: Estimated growth by spectroscopy sector for 2007.			

The atomic spectroscopy market comprises various techniques that perform elemental analyses, and it is therefore customary to associate such analyses with old-line industries such as primary metals, metal fabrication, and environmental testing, especially for water quality. Fortunately, the metals sector is beginning to take on modest characteristics of a genuine growth business, which has had a decidedly positive impact. As the result of a worldwide expansion in manufacturing activity, especially in China and India, the metals industry has boomed in terms of production and profits, and instrument purchases have increased, with arc-spark, elemental analyzers, and X-ray techniques particularly benefiting. However, techniques such as atomic absorption and ICP exhibit combined market growth currently estimated at less than 2% per year. These techniques, while broadly based, are primarily tied to municipal water testing applications where budgetary constraints limit replacement purchases and near-term prospects are less bright (except in developing regions such as China and Eastern Europe). 

Perhaps the greatest contrast in market growth can be found in the two largest product segments, XRF and atomic absorption (AA). XRF has undergone explosive growth over the past few years and now represents a full quarter of the atomic spectroscopy market. This growth has come from increasing adoption of newer X-ray technology in its traditional materials science markets, but is due much more to the influence of the European Union's RoHS rule and similar environmental requirements in other areas. Manufacturers of electronics worldwide have adopted XRF, particularly handheld XRF, as the most applicable tool for compliance. Growth will exceed 10% for XRF and sales of handheld units alone should exceed $150 million in 2007. In contrast, the market for AA resembles the market for more traditional techniques. Although environmental regulations also benefit AA, the installed base in the developed world is already large, while instrument prices in China and India, where demand is strong, are low due to global and domestic competition. The net result is that the dollar value of the market is decreasing, though at a fairly negligible rate. 

ICP spectrometry generally offers greater throughput potential than AA instruments and is more sensitive than flame AA, but somewhat comparable to graphite furnace AA. But like AA, it is environmentally focused and is a higher cost technique. Water testing at independent test labs is its largest market, but water works and government regulatory agencies are also major users. Petroleum testing and trace metals analysis are also important applications. Glow-discharge spectroscopy, used for solid metal samples, has experienced a bit of a renaissance because of the more intense interest in metal analysis. So the market for ICP is still expanding minimally, but bracketed by lower cost AA techniques and more sensitive ICP-MS instruments. 

Although ICP-MS has applications in the pharmaceutical industry, it is benefiting much more broadly from environmental testing and process water testing, especially for semiconductor processing applications. As the most sensitive atomic spectroscopy technique, ICP-MS is used when no other instrument will do; and as regulatory limits fall, ICP-MS will likely have more and more work to do. Last year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lowered arsenic limits from 10 ppb to 5 ppb, which relegated that application to ICP-MS, a boon to ICP-MS but a loss for ICP. 

Like XRF, X-ray diffraction (XRD) offers exceptional growth prospects, but for entirely different reasons. Although it has important applications in materials science and fatigue testing of metals, XRD is the atomic spectroscopy technique with the biggest connection to pharmaceutical research. Using single-crystal XRD, pharmaceutical scientists can determine the structure of pharmaceutical molecules and proteins, as well as monitor the changes in structure and phase that result from the application of heat. In addition, compound identification and shelf-life determinations are important pharmaceutical applications. Such life science applications form a strong source of growth for XRD.  

Elemental analyzers are specific-purpose instruments for the analysis of a limited number of elements. These instruments can be segregated into two categories: organic analyzers and inorganic analyzers. Organic analyzers include total organic carbon (TOC), CHN and protein, and sum parameters analyzers (total and bound nitrogen and extractable organic halogens). Inorganic analyzers are used for carbon–sulfur determinations and for mercury, arsenic, boron, and cyanide analysis. Organic analyzers, especially TOC analyzers, exhibit demand growth of over 7% per year, twice that of inorganic analyzers. Pharmaceutical and semiconductor water analysis, as well as food-related applications, drive this market, while metals composition and trace metals analysis are key application areas for inorganic analyzers. Although organic analyzers have enjoyed good growth for a number of years, recent interest in metals analysis has given new life to this mature technique. 

Arc-spark optical emission spectroscopy is the smallest analytical segment in atomic spectroscopy, and until recently was a declining business in terms of new instrument shipments. High metals prices have encouraged manufacturers to upgrade their facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, while new installations in China and India have shifted interest to that region. Still, the market is very mature and growth will be minimal, with a focus on replacement sales and aftermarket purchases. 

MS continues to be the growth leader in spectroscopy as the various MS products take on progressively more challenging analytical applications in the laboratory. The worldwide market for mass spectrometry approached the $2 billion mark in 2006 as revenues increased at more than 9%. Performance for 2007 should be almost as strong. MS's popularity is clearly a function of its utility, but interest in the technique has also intensified because of the rapid pace of new product introductions that promise greater sensitivity, speed, and throughput — and sometimes at very attractive prices.  

Single quadrupole LC–MS instruments are growing in popularity because they are more affordable than higher priced tandem LC–MS products and can address routine applications for quality control and environmental analysis very efficiently. This is the result of mass detector innovations, as well as the teaming with the new generation of fast LC systems that can increase sensitivity and speed of analysis. The tandem LC–MS market is expected to be equally as strong since it is where most of the recent major technological advancements in MS have taken place. 

New product introductions arrive at shorter and shorter intervals and feature greatly enhanced performance. Although the matrix assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) market has settled into a lower level of steady growth, it continues to find favor among various customer groups, especially in the biotech and clinical fields. The FT-MS market is the smallest but fastest growing of the six major MS categories. Magnetic sector instruments are  the exception in the MS market, with minimal to flat growth in demand. GC–MS should benefit from increased opportunities in the petroleum and petrochemical industries as well as from environmental initiatives. 

The field of MS is one in which high performance seems to be the primary purchasing motivation. MS users, and even molecular biologists, appear not to be able to resist the allure of higher performance, especially sensitivity. Based upon extensive customer interactions, MS suppliers continue to introduce new high-resolution mass spectrometers at a steady pace, even in the face of growing cost concerns. Fortunately, these new mass spectrometers often hit the market just as scientists grapple with technical challenges in the laboratory for which these instruments seem to be a godsend. Although large pharmaceutical firms have moderated their appetites for costly instrumentation, small firms and generic manufacturers, as well as biotech laboratories, are still ready and willing to adopt these new techniques. 

The TOF LC–MS market comprises quadrupole (Q)-TOF, LC-TOF, and Q(ion trap)-TOF instruments that feature the high resolution, mass range, and scan speed of TOF analyzers. These instruments are especially applicable to the requirements of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The Q-TOF category is the largest and is locked in a battle with FT-MS instruments for proteomics applications. Annual growth is estimated at 10%. 

Tandem LC–MS includes triple-quadrupole and ion-trap mass spectrometers, but does not include the associated HPLC frontends. Technological advancements have been rampant in what is by far the largest MS market, with major performance enhancements in triple-quadrupole and ion-trap technology. The pace of advancements in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries continues to be the main driver of the rapid development in tandem LC–MS and should bring this segment to about $700 million in revenues in 2007. 

The MALDI-TOF market is continuing to experience a transformation from linear and reflectron instruments toward higher performance tandem systems, including TOF–TOF, and Q-TOF instruments configured as MALDI-TOF instruments. This evolution in product type has provided this market with real growth potential in a significantly higher performance niche in MS, especially because these tandem instruments sell for more than $500,000 each. 

Although a significant market has existed for decades, worldwide demand has doubled over the last two years, and annual growth should be in double digits for several more years. The development of tandem FT–MS systems, the introduction of the Orbitrap mass analyzers by Thermo Electron, lower average prices, reduced operating costs, and significant improvements in system and software design have brought this technique into the mainstream. Enhanced ease-of-use has been a decidedly important consideration, especially to scientists without an MS background. 

Magnetic sector mass analyzers form the one area of laboratory MS that has not experienced any significant growth in demand in several years. Actually, the service business offers the strongest growth because many instruments have long useful lives and require periodic service of a highly technical nature. Although magnetic sector instruments still hold an advantage over other MS techniques in terms of mass resolution, their size and high cost is a significant drawback. Unit demand for isotope ratio instruments has grown, but as average prices have fallen, revenue increases have been slow to follow. 

Like the LC–MS categories, the market estimates for GC–MS do not include the associated GC demand. The demand for GC–MS is distributed broadly across many industries, with the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors accounting for only about 10% of the market, quite unusual as compared to other MS techniques. This diversity leads to a modest growth potential of about 5% in this $400 million market. 

Solving Societal Problems and Addressing Global Opportunities

The world of spectroscopy is populated by a variety of technologies, some old, some new, that can be found today in many of the most challenging sectors of the global economy. Who would have speculated that an X-ray technique would be industry's solution to helping reduce lead contamination of waste disposal sites and nearby groundwater? But fortunately, modified versions of handheld instruments developed years ago to detect lead-based paint in older homes were the genesis of these new instruments. XRF instruments, both handheld and benchtop units, are now one of today's growth segments as they screen for lead-based solder in printed circuit boards throughout the world. 

Raman spectroscopy, once an obscure technique, is becoming a solution to analytical problems that cannot be adequately addressed by FT–IR or NIR instrumentation. From authenticating diamonds, to characterizing pharmaceutical compounds, to PAT solutions to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing, Raman is the choice of scientists and engineers. 

And how much longer would we need to wait to discover new groundbreaking pharmaceutical compounds without the aid of tandem LC–MS, TOF-LC-MS, and FT-MS instruments. These and a dozen other examples are why spectroscopy instruments are the leading technologies that the world is dependent upon. Of course, this did not just happen by accident. Product innovations, applications development, and technological augmentation have allowed the instruments we rely on to become a reality. Reconciling customer preferences with the evolving demands of regulatory requirements is a continuing challenge. This, coupled with the need to make each instrument easy to use, fast, and inexpensive, makes life interesting for instrument manufacturers. Much work still lies ahead, but the successes thus far achieved attest to the growing demand for these techniques. 

As the world develops, spectroscopy technology is rapidly finding its way into markets that a few years ago barely existed. Today spectroscopy suppliers from around the world are shifting their manufacturing and marketing strategies to better address these global opportunities. China is the most obvious example, where indigenous suppliers and foreign firms help to bring important technology to its rapidly expanding economy. China is a big potential market, but it is also a source of efficient manufacturing that will likely be a major future supplier of innovative instrumentation to global markets. In fact, it is already becoming a player on the world stage. 

 is President and Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Directions International, Inc. For more information on 

 or other instrumentation research, contact Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (310) 641-4982, fax; (310) 641-8851, E-mail: 

Articles

Industry expert Lawrence Schmid presents his annual overview of the market in the laboratory analytical and life science instrument industry. Strong growth in Asia and continued growth in North America and Europe are promising signs for the industry in 2007 and beyond.

Spectroscopy: Still Important and Surprisingly Robust

Despite continuing conflict overseas, the economy on the homefront is doing rather well, and fortunately, scientists in industries across the board are reveling in these financial salad days with increases in their average base salaries. As of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is well over 12,000, and rapidly approaching 13,000. The 2007 

 Salary and Employment Survey reveals that, for the most part, the wealth has been spread to scientists, but still stress is up, and the gender salary gap is widening. 

This year, 840 scientists took part in the survey — 75.6% male and 24.4% female, with 24.4% in the age range of 50–55. Based upon their responses, the average annual salary for 2007 is $79,605, up $1625 from last year. Not quite the sizeable leap from 2005 to 2006, when there was a difference of just over $5000, but still another big stride for an ever-growing industry. Out of the respondents, 91.1% are employed full-time. The percentage of unemployed respondents this year is roughly the same as 2006, at 1.6%. However, this is still down from 2005, when unemployment was at 2.4%. The private industry is by far the largest employer of scientists, with 65.4% working in that sector, earning $84,131, followed by academia (16.7%), earning $61,189, and government/national labs (15%), earning $74,853, a distant second and third, respectively (see Figure 1).  

Figure 1: Salary summary by job sector, 2005â2007.			

Only 0.2% of respondents report an income of less than $25,000, less than the 0.8% who report that they earn over $175,000. This is a steep drop from 2005, when 2.9% of respondents claimed that they made less than $25,000. The highest income percentage (17.5%) claims to make between $100,000 and $125,000, which is also what 22.8% of scientists with 21–35 years of experience make. Despite rising salaries, 50.4% of scientists choose to supplement their income in some way. Out of these respondents, 14.2% say their supplemental income is between $1000 and $5000 per year. 

Female respondents still have yet to catch up to the salaries of their male counterparts, and the divide seems to be growing even wider. This year, male scientists will earn an average of $82,706, while females earn far less, at $68,488, an average difference of $14,218. This gap is up from $12,000 in 2006, which was consistently up from $10,000 in 2005 (see Figure 2).  

Figure 2: Salary summary by gender, 2005â2007.			

Not only does the salary divide between genders remain wide, but females garnered a significantly smaller raise in pay. Females saw their average salary jump from $68,300 last year to $68,488 this year, an increase of just $188. Male scientists, on the other hand, saw their pay go from $80,660 to $82,706, an improvement of $2046, nearly 11 times more of a salary increase than females. 

However, perhaps the answer for the gender divide can be found at the level of education. When asked what was the highest degree they had obtained, 43.5% of men held a Ph.D., while only 27% of women did. Because scientists with a Ph.D. earn considerably more  than those with associates, bachelor's, or master's degrees, that could be one factor in the gender salary gap. Experience could be another factor, but of course, research didn't give us these numbers! 

As with most careers, the salary survey indicated that scientists who have obtained higher levels of education receive much higher levels of compensation. This year, respondents with a Ph.D. will earn $92,600, up $750 from last year. The employment area with the highest salaries for Ph.D.s is pharmaceutical science, where scientists will earn an average of $102,075 in 2007. 

Those with master's degrees do not earn quite as much as their Ph.D. counterparts, but were no doubt pleased to see their salaries increase as well, from $75,050 to $77,980, a raise of $2930, although not quite the leap from 2005 to 2006, which saw a pay increase of $3600.  

Scientists with bachelor's degrees breathed another sigh of relief this year. From 2004 to 2005, they saw their pay actually decrease $3100 to $59,030, only to make up for it in spades last year, with an average of $64,560. This year, the news is even better, as bachelor's degree holders saw their salaries increase by a large amount yet again, to $68,292, an upswing of $3732. Meanwhile, scientists with associate's degrees will earn an average of $50,875 in 2007. 

Comparing the numbers between master's and bachelor's degrees, the salary gap between the two education levels appears to be drawing closer. Will this trend continue, and if so, will obtaining an M.S. be worth it? David W. Ball, associate professor of chemistry at Cleveland State University in Ohio, says, "My guess is that obtaining an M.S. will still be worth it because of job perquisites other than salary:  promotion potential, other professional opportunities, etc. It's good that B.S. salaries are increasing, but hopefully a salary inversion situation won't present itself." 

Not surprisingly, when broken down by job title, CEOs/presidents take the top spot, making a mean annual base salary of $144,900. Full professors (3.6% of respondents) come in second, earning a base salary of $101,125. The position with the highest percentage of respondents, senior scientists/researchers/research fellows (16.3%), earn an average of $91,041.  

				In descending order of average base salary, the other job titles surveyed include technical directors ($93,000), laboratory directors/managers ($86,832), staff scientists/researchers/research fellows ($79,638), other ($75,561), associate professors ($71,222), process engineers ($70,200), chemists/spectroscopists ($67,845), analysts ($60,650), research assistants/associates ($56,661), laboratory technicians/technologists ($55,894), assistant professors ($52,667), and process chemists ($45,000).			

As for job specialties, the highest percentage of respondents specialize in applied research/ development (25.1%), and earn an average of $87,363. The top-earning specialty, corporate management, employs just 1.7% of respondents, who earn an average of $139,000. 

On this year's salary survey, the United States was divided into five regions: the Southwest, Northwest, Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest, a slight departure from previous surveys. In 2006, the Pacific/Pacific Northwest region was the top-earning area, with an average salary of $78,590. This year, the Southwest (CA, HI, AZ, NM, NV, CO, UT, OK, TX) topped the other regions, with its citizens (22.9% of respondents) earning an average of $89,735, while the Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, AK) came in last (5.3% of respondents), with $67,306 in average annual income (see Figure 3).  

Figure 3: Salary summary by region, 2007.			

The largest percentage of respondents came from the Midwest (28%), but they came in fourth in average income, with $71,820. The Northeast (24.4% of respondents) had the second-highest average income, with $82,040, while the Southeast came in third, with $79,700 in average salary. 

Once again in 2007, salaries seemingly continued to rise as spectroscopists got older, with those aged 60–65 having a mean salary of $98,319 (see Figure 4). This raises the question, does it pay to retire, or will more scientists hang on to their jobs in their golden years? Ball believes that it depends upon the individual situation. "I think it depends on what benefits will be available upon retirement. For example, if I were to retire, my health care insurance payments would skyrocket," Ball says. "Given the fact that the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, my feeling is that as long as your job is fulfilling, you should stick with it!" Respondents are likely to see Ball's point of view, as just 51.3% say that their company offers a 401(k), while only 32.9% offer some sort of retirement plan.  

Figure 4: Salary summary by age, 2005â2007.			

On the other end of the age spectrum, the eight respondents aged 20–25 earn an average of $46,188, a severe departure from last year's survey, in which those aged 21–25 claimed to earn $63,300. Looking a bit further on in years, 36.4% of respondents aged 36–45 earn between $85,000 and $100,000, up from 30% in 2006. 

Despite an overall increase in salary this year, scientists are feeling more stressed at work than ever, with 52.4% reporting that their stress level at work has increased in the last year, while 40.7% say that their stress has remained the same, and only 4.6% declared that their stress has actually decreased. When asked why they felt that their stress level at work has increased, most respondents (18.8%) blamed staff management uncertainty. Another 16.2% placed fault on negative workplace attitudes. Additionally, despite the notion that new technology is only supposed to make work easier, 4% of respondents replied that they cannot keep up with technological advances.  

On the other side of the coin, 12.5% of respondents who say that their stress level has decreased in the past year attribute it to new technology that has increased their productivity and quality. Improved workplace attitudes were cited by 34.4% of less-stressful respondents. 

Is there a correlation between stress and workplace satisfaction? When asked to rate their satisfaction with their current position, 33.1% of respondents claimed to be "very satisfied," compared to just 4.2% who were dissatisfied, while 36.7% were simply "satisfied" (see Figure 5). So it seems that satisfaction does not factor into workplace stress. Curiously enough, those respondents who said they were dissatisfied earn an average of $85,999, while those who claim to be very satisfied earn $4444 less, at $81,555.  

Stress at work may not be enough of an issue to switch jobs, as 54.7% of respondents said that they are not considering a job change within the next year. Of the 20.8% who are considering a job change in the next year, 56.8% would prefer to work in the private industry — which just happens to be the largest employer of scientists. 

The data presented in this article are a small sampling of the spectroscopy community as a whole. If you would like to share your thoughts on this article and its data, and how it relates to your career, please e-mail us at: 

Staff editor Brian Johnson takes a look at this year's salaries and trends in employment for spectroscopists.

2007 Salary Survey

When a person says the word "light," a listener — even a spectroscopist — usually interprets that as meaning "visible light." That's not unexpected, because throughout most of recorded history the only light that we recognized was light that we could see. However, that changed in the 1800s when it was finally realized that light was a more general phenomenon. Although currently the term "light" refers to a lot more than just visible light, it's more common to use the phrase "electromagnetic radiation" when referring to any form of light. The collective range of possible lights is called the 

Light has both particle and wave properties, as has been discussed in a recent column (1). Because a photon of light has a certain energy 

Because light's properties can be described by values of wavelength λ, frequency υ, and wavenumber υ tilde  (see Figure 1), it acts as a wave. As with any wave, the velocity of light is equal to the product of its frequency and wavelength:

Unlike that of other waves, the speed of light is a constant for a given medium. In a vacuum, the speed of light is approximately 3.00 × 10

  m/s — about seven and a half times around the Earth every second. (See Figure 2 for an example of the speed of light.) 

Because the speed of light is a constant, there is a simple relationship between the wavelength of a light and its frequency. For visible light, wavelengths range from 400 to 700 nm, which correspond to frequencies of 7.5 × 10

  waves per second. The energy and momentum of each photon of visible light can be calculated from the earlier equations.

In 1800, British astronomer William Herschel was measuring the effect of various colors of light on a thermometer, using a prism to disperse light from the sun. Upon putting the thermometer past the red light, he noted an even larger increase in temperature than when the thermometer was bathed in visible light. It was obvious that there was "light" beyond the color red; this light was eventually termed "infrared" light — literally, "below red" light. 

Experiments with light showed that some colors could darken certain silver salts — indeed, this is the basis of photographic film. In 1801, German scientist Johann Ritter noted that the region of the spectrum just beyond the violet edge of visible light was more effective at turning silver halides dark. He reasoned that there was an invisible form of light beyond violet, which he named "deoxidizing rays," later known as "chemical rays." Once the nature of light was better established in the late 19th century, the term "ultraviolet" — beyond violet — light was adopted. 

The mention of magnets in ancient literature goes back to the 4th century B.C., while constructive use of electricity dates to 1800 with the invention of the voltaic pile, the first crude battery. (Previous experiments involving electricity largely involved static electricity or, as with Benjamin Franklin and the kite, lightning.) In 1820, Danish scientist Hans Orsted noticed that the needle on a nearby compass deflected when he turned the current on and off a voltaic cell. This suggested that there was a connection between electricity and magnetism, and inspired additional work by scientists such as Faraday, Ampère, Volta, and Ohm (all of whom now have electricity-related units named after them). Many of the theoretical advances involving electricity and magnetism were summarized by James Clerk Maxwell in 1864. The four fundamental equations are called 

 and in a space where there is no current or charge, they are 

 is the magnetic flux density, • is the divergence operator, and × is the curl operator. (Both the divergence and curl operators are partial differential operators. For additional information on these operators, consult a calculus text.) The constants μ

 are permeability of free space and the permittivity of free space, respectively, both of which are universal constants. In these forms, 

 are related to each other because two of the equations contain them both; they are referred to as 

 differential equations. They can be decoupled by applying the curl operator a second time to the third and fourth equation (see reference 2, chapter 8). The results are 

The equation has the same form for each quantity. This form is a second-order differential equation whose solution is the classic wave equation: a sine or cosine function (which are similarly behaved functions that differ mainly in phase) whose velocity is the reciprocal square root of the constants multiplying the second derivative on the right side; that is,

The numerical value of this equation is about 3.00 × 10

  m/s, which was very close to the experimentally measured speed of light, so Maxwell made the following statement (3): 

This velocity is so nearly that of light, that it seems we have strong reason to conclude that light itself (including radiant heat, and other radiations if any) is an electromagnetic disturbance in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field according to electromagnetic laws. 

Indeed, this is how light currently is perceived, which is why light is synonymous with the term 

 This also means that the velocity of light 

 are universal constants, it stands that 

, the speed of light, is a universal constant, an idea that forms the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity. 

Notice that nothing in Maxwell's equations restricts the possible values of the wavelength/frequency of electromagnetic radiation; they only restrict its velocity. Infrared light, visible light, and ultraviolet light are all the same phenomenon, but with different values of wavelength and frequency (and the same velocity). What Maxwell's equations imply is that there exist other ranges of wavelength/frequency for electromagnetic radiation. The entire range of possible wavelengths and frequencies for electromagnetic radiation makes up the electromagnetic spectrum. 

Figure 3 shows a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum. The cutoffs for each region are approximate and can vary somewhat, depending upon the reference. Some older references also can show 

 on the far end next to gamma rays; though once thought to be very high-frequency radiation, cosmic rays are now known to be composed of particles, not electromagnetic radiation. 

Maxwell died in 1879, at age 48. In 1887–1888, German physicist Heinrich Hertz (who himself died at age 37 in 1894) was the first to create electromagnetic radiation intentionally in a different region of the spectrum. Using a transmitter, Hertz generated radio waves and detected them by using a loop of wire that had a small gap between the ends. A spark would be generated upon receipt of radio waves by the loop, which was acting as an antenna. By setting a curved zinc plate some distance away from the generator to reflect the waves (a precursor to radar) and by varying the distance between the generator and the antenna, Hertz was able to determine the wavelength of the radiation (about 4 m) and determine its other properties, like velocity. In measuring this last quantity, Hertz confirmed that the radiation being given off was a form of light, verifying the applicability of Maxwell's equations. Hertz also generated microwave radiation in a similar fashion. Modern methods of generating microwave radiation use solid-state semiconductor devices or vacuum tube-based instruments. 

The infrared portion of the spectrum commonly is divided into sections, although the number of sections and their limits varies. One common set of divisions lists the far infrared (wavelength range 0.75–5 μm), the mid infrared (5–30 μm), and the near infrared (30–1000 μm). The near-infrared region is adjacent to the visible portion of the spectrum. 

Let us turn to the other side of the spectrum. The ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum can be separated in several ways. Ultraviolet A radiation (abbreviated UVA), also called long-wave UV light, has a wavelength range of 400–315 nm. Ultraviolet B radiation (UVB, or medium-wave UV) has a wavelength range of 315–280 nm, while ultraviolet C (UVC, short-wave UV, or germicidal UV) has a wavelength of less than 280 nm. Scientists also speak of near UV (380–200 nm, or NUV), far or vacuum UV (200–10 nm, FUV or VUV), and extreme UV (31–1 nm, EUV or XUV). For spectroscopists, the term vacuum UV means wavelengths of UV light that air absorbs significantly, so that any spectroscopy using light of this wavelength range typically must be performed in a vacuum. 

Because the energy of a light photon is inversely proportional to its wavelength, electromagnetic radiation in the UV range or shorter wavelength can have severe physiological consequences, as the energy of the photon is similar to that of an average chemical bond. Solar radiation contains significant amounts of UV radiation, exposure to which causes skin tanning and, if in excess, sunburn. Long-term exposure to solar UV radiation damages skin and can lead to cancer. 

X-rays were first studied systematically by Prussian (now part of Germany) scientist Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895. Using a partially evacuated discharge tube called a cathode ray tube, Röntgen noticed that his detector, a fluorescent screen of barium platino-cyanide, glowed when a discharge was passed through the tube even though the window of the tube was covered. Convinced that he had discovered a new form of radiation, he named it "X-rays" after the common algebraic variable for an unknown quantity. In his initial experiments, Röntgen noted the differential passage of X-rays through matter of differing compositions; less than a week later, he took the first X-ray of the human body, that of his wife's hand (see Figure 4). Röntgen's work was first announced in January 1896, and the medical applications of X-rays were almost immediate. X-ray spectroscopy came a bit later, developed most notably by Karl Manne Siegbahn, a Swedish physicist who won the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in developing X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. 

X-rays are a type of ionizing radiation, so-called because X-ray photons have enough energy to eject an electron from an atom, creating ions. (Indeed, this can be used as a form of spectroscopy, which was discussed previously in this column [4].) The production of ions in this fashion typically is not good, and people usually have to take safety precautions when working with X-rays or electromagnetic radiation of smaller wavelength. 

Gamma rays were discovered by French scientist Paul Villard in 1900 during some of the initial investigations into the properties of radioactivity. They were first thought to be particles emitted during the course of radioactivity; hence their name, following the identification of alpha particles and beta particles. William Bragg showed that they ionized gas in 1910, and Ernest Rutherford measured their wavelengths by diffracting them with crystals, demonstrating that they were indeed electromagnetic radiation. Gamma rays are the shortest wavelength, highest frequency, and highest energy form of electromagnetic radiation. 

All regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are used in spectroscopy. Figure 5 shows how each region contributes to a form of spectroscopy, many of which have been addressed in previous columns. 

is a professor of chemistry at Cleveland State University in Ohio. Many of his “Baseline” columns have been reprinted in book form by SPIE Press as 

 available through the SPIE Web Bookstore at 

(published in May 2006), is available from SPIE Press. He can be reached at 

 (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981). 

The Baseline

David Ball discusses how the electromagnetic spectrum was originally mapped out and what this means for spectroscopy.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum: A History

If real-time analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is important to you, selected ionflow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) might be the technique you are looking for. Utilizing chemical ionization and dual quadrupole mass selection, SIFT-MS eliminates gas chromatography (GC) columns and sample preparation, creating a new dimension in rapid laboratory-grade VOC analysis.  			

The SIFT-MS technique uses a soft chemical ionization reaction between a single selected reagent ion and the gas-phase sample analytes that produce fixed chemical reactions. By using gas-phase ion chemistry and tightly controlled reaction conditions, SIFT-MS provides instantaneous quantification of target analyte species. 

 ) to chemically ionize VOCs in air samples. The process forms product ions, which are indicative of the VOCs present in a sample. Product ions are detected over a full mass range of 10–300 atomic mass units (amu). Most VOCs react with one or more of the three reagent ions, making them suitable for SIFT-MS analysis. In addition, SIFT-MS can be used to quantify certain inorganic gases, such as ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.  

In SIFT-MS, the whole air sample is introduced directly into the flow tube reaction region for analysis. Suitable sample presentation methods include whole air, breath, Tedlar bags, canisters, and preconcentrated media such as sorbent tubes or solid-phase microextraction fibers. 

SIFT-MS analysis provides a real-time response of 250 ms between sample introduction and compound quantification. The instantaneous nature of SIFT-MS analysis allows the study of dynamic samples such as flavor release, which precludes complex sample preparation procedures. 

SIFT-MS provides absolute quantification of analyte concentrations (not just the relative concentrations) in the parts-per-trillion (by volume) range. This sensitivity, combined with instantaneous analysis, makes SIFT-MS extremely suitable for addressing food and flavor applications as well as breath-based medical diagnostics. 

Usually, analyzing moist gas-phase samples with traditional techniques requires that the sample is dried before analysis can commence. SIFT-MS is unique in allowing accurate quantification of moist samples, critical for the analysis of breath and other humid sample matrixes. 

Discriminate Isobaric Compounds and Isomers

Utilizing three reagent ions provides SIFT-MS with a distinct advantage over comparative single-precursor techniques such as proton transfer reaction MS and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization MS. By switching between reagent ions, SIFT-MS can differentiate compounds that share the same mass (isobaric) and compounds that share the same mass and chemical formula (isomers). 

For example, proton transfer reaction MS, which uses H

  as its sole reagent ion, cannot discriminate the common compounds acetaldehyde and ethylene oxide, because they both produce products at mass 45. However, by using NO

  as the reagent ion, SIFT-MS discriminates these compounds because the acetaldehyde product is at mass 43 and the ethylene oxide product is at mass 74.  

From one integrated scan process, SIFT-MS analysis provides clear, realtime discrimination of individual isobaric compounds and many isomers. 

The ability of SIFT-MS to quantify absolute analyte concentrations instantaneously in gas-phase samples is the result of four factors: 					

Introducing a selected single thermalized reagent ion stream into the reaction chamber (the flow tube).

A thorough understanding of the physical dynamics of the flow tube, including the reaction time.

A comprehensive knowledge of the ion chemistry occurring in the flow tube for each analyte.

Precise control of flow tube conditions, such as sample and gas flows, temperature, and vacuum conditions.

The SIFT-MS process can be divided into five main steps: 					

Generation of ions: These SIFT-MS instruments use either a microwave discharge or radio frequency (RF) source to generate positive ions.

Ion selection: The ions enter an upstream chamber, where a quadrupole mass filter removes all but the selected reagent ions. Generally, H

Sample introduction and reaction: The reagent ions pass through a venturi to a reaction chamber — the flow tube — where they react with sample, which enters the flow tube at a precisely controlled rate.

Selection of reaction products: The reaction products enter a downstream chamber where they are filtered by a second quadrupole mass filter.

Detection: A particle multiplier detects and counts the selected products. SIFT-MS uses a database to identify analytes. This database holds information on how rapidly an analyte reacts with the reagent ion (the "rate coefficient" for the reaction), the products of the reaction, and their relative abundances. Interpretation of detector product-ion intensity across the mass range provides identification of the sample analytes.

As with all types of MS, SIFT-MS uses ionization in the analysis process. But unlike many comparative forms of MS, such as GC–MS, SIFT-MS uses soft chemical ionization. 

Typical reactions of the three SIFT-MS reagent ions are as follows:

SIFT-MS minimizes the fragmentation issues associated with higher energy ionization (such as electron impact ionizatio). Fragmentation occurs when energetic ionization processes break apart the compounds that are being analyzed. These fragments lead to complicated mass spectra, which make costly and time-consuming chromatographic separation necessary. 

In contrast to hard ionization methods, the soft chemical ionization process used by SIFT-MS produces a significantly simpler mass spectrum, minimizing interference issues between compounds without chromatographic columns. 

The ability to process headspace and humid samples creates new opportunities for a wide variety of existing and emerging applications. 

Through analysis of blood headspace, bacterial culture times can be reduced significantly, thereby decreasing diagnosis times and providing improved patient outcomes and the potential for a reduction in healthcare-associated costs. 

 Medical research already has established that many conditions such as cancer, infections, and diabetes all create signature patterns of VOCs on a patient's breath. The ability to identify these patterns using SIFT-MS instruments has huge potential for noninvasive screening and early diagnosis of disease. 

Workers inspecting or unloading shipping containers are routinely exposed to hazardous concentrations of fumigants or other toxic compounds. SIFT-MS instruments provide fast and accurate identification and measurement of these compounds, facilitating worker safety. These SIFT-MS instruments can detect a suite of chemically diverse compounds. No other technology platform exists that provides realtime quantification with no sample preparation and such user-friendly interfaces. 

 SIFT-MS can detect the volatile signatures of illegal contraband or goods of interest to customs and government entities. 

 Due to exceptional sensitivity and the unique multireagent ion approach, SIFT-MS provides an ideal tool for analysis and true quantification of flavor compounds, including difficult-to-detect compounds such as vanillin. 

 The technique also rapidly analyzes whole-air samples for a range of air-quality monitoring applications, including exhaust emissions, sulfur-containing compounds, and other pollutants. 

For centuries, physicians have recognized that people who have kidney failure have a distinctive breath odor, described as ammonia-like and termed "uremic fetor." This is thought to be due to the accumulation in the body of waste products that normally are excreted by the kidneys. Currently, diagnosis of kidney failure is invasive and might not be timely enough to allow early intervention and treatment. There would be great advantages to having a fast, noninvasive method able to detect early changes in kidney function.  

SIFT-MS breath analysis in patients with kidney failure is allowing physicians and scientists to detect subtle changes in kidney function. Patients with kidney failure are being studied before, during, and after dialysis, following kidney transplantation, and during episodes of acute renal failure. Breath test results are being correlated with the results from conventional blood test measurements of kidney function and with renal biopsy results. Measurement of breath VOCs might provide a means to measure the adequacy of dialysis treatments, whether a patient is rejecting a transplanted kidney, or if a patient is suffering the early stages of acute renal failure. 

Molecular Spectroscopy Workbench

Guest author Rebecca Bain of SYFT Technologies discusses a new technique for VOC analysis. SIFT-MS can be used successfully in a wide variety of applications, including medical research, shipping container air analysis, laboratory analysis, and air-quality monitoring.

SIFT-MS: Gas-Phase Chemistry - MS with a Difference

Raman is a category of molecular spectroscopy that has achieved widespread commercial development over the past decade or so for laboratory applications. However, such technological development has helped to make Raman into a viable analytical technology for other applications, such as in the security market. Although this market is only in its infancy, it is expected to see very rapid growth. 

Until recently, Raman spectroscopy had been relegated to a novel molecular spectroscopy method with little application due to the inability of technology to reduce the fluorescence effect that can overwhelm the relatively weak Raman signal. Major improvements in optics and electronics have not only made Raman spectroscopy a viable commercial laboratory technique, but also are allowing Raman spectroscopy to be developed for security applications in the form of compact and handheld instruments.  

There are only a handful of vendors that currently manufacture Raman-based security instrumentation, including Smiths Detection and Ahura. Smiths Detection is one of the leading security instrumentation vendors in the world, and is the clear leader in spectroscopic security instrumentation. Ahura, on the other hand, is a young start-up company that specializes in handheld Raman instrumentation for security applications, but has been rapidly establishing itself as the front-runner in this market. 

The worldwide security market for Raman in 2005 was worth only about $10 million. However, its inherent selectivity, its ability to specifically identify numerous organic and inorganic compounds, and its ease of analysis and use have helped to create a fairly large potential for this market. As police, emergency workers, airport screening organizations, and other security professionals discover Raman-based security instruments, the market should grow rapidly, estimated to triple by 2010. 

The foregoing data were extracted from SDi's market analysis and perspectives report entitled 

Analytical Instrumentation for Security Applications, May 2006

. For more information, contact Stuart Press, Senior Consultant, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (310) 641-4982, fax: (310) 641-8851, 

Departments

Raman is a category of molecular spectroscopy that has achieved widespread commercial development over the past decade or so for laboratory applications. However, such technological development has helped to make Raman into a viable analytical technology for other applications, such as in the security market. Although this market is only in its infancy, it is expected to see very rapid growth.

Market Profile: Raman Spectroscopy for Security Applications

HORIBA Jobin Yvon's FluoroMax-4 benchtop spectrofluorometer reportedly features a sensitivity of at least 400,000 cps for the water-Raman peak at 397 nm and a signal-to-noise ratio of 3000:1 minimum. According to the company, the spectrofluorometer uses an ozone-free xenon arc lamp for broadband coverage from the UV to near-IR. Optional accessories include automatic polarizers, a stopped-flow device for kinetics, a microwell-plate reader, and an autotitrator. HORIBA Jobin Yvon, Edison, NJ; 

PIKE Technologies' grazing angle option for its VeeMAX II ATR accessory is designed to aid in the analysis of monomolecular layers on silicon to obtain FT-IR spectra. The accessory reportedly provides high throughput to cut down on sampling time and facilitate detection of the monomolecular layers of silicon without utilizing a liquid nitrogen–cooled detector. Crystal options for the accessory include ZnSe, ZnS, and Si. 

Andor Technology's iKon-M CCD cameras reportedly offer rapid frame rates acquisition and fast focusing, direct USB 2.0 connectivity to PC, an integrated C-mount shutter, TE cooling to -100 °C, up to 95% QE, a low noise floor, and software-selectable readout speeds as high as 2.5 MHz.  

Bruker Daltonics announces its ultraflex III smartbeam MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometer, optimized for MALDI molecular imaging. The product is designed to produce a laser focus size of 10–80 μm, with adjustable repetition rates from 1 Hz to 200 Hz

Bio-Rad Laboratories' KnowItAll Enterprise data management software is designed for centralizing, securing, and accessing IR, NMR, MS, Raman, UV, and chromatographic data. According to the company, the software enables data management and sharing across any enterprise behind the user's own firewall. 

Hitachi's model U-2900 is a UV-vis local control double-beam spectrophotometer designed for routine as well as research laboratory applications. According to the company, the product is equipped with a 10.4-in. color liquid crystal display, data storage with an external USB flash disk, a validation function that allows users to check performance, and optional PC control using the company's UV Solutions software. 

The NITON XLt 797X portable analyzer from Thermo Electron is designed to rapidly screen metals, polymers, and components for RoHS, ELV, and WEEE compliance screening. The device's small sample measurement capability reportedly allows users to isolate and analyze solder joints and small components on populated circuit boards as well as other heterogeneous materials. 

The Melles Griot Optics Group offers additional Fizeau interferometer test optics to complement the company's Absolute Fizeau λ40 transmission spheres. The additions include Absolute Fizeau λ50 concave and convex reference spheres, Absolute Fizeau λ50 transmission flats, and Absolute Fizeau λ50 reference flats. 

Enwave's EZRaman-M field portable Raman analyzer is designed for use in forensic and security applications, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and educational and research laboratories. The system features a 785 nm frequency stabilized laser with resolution of ~7 cm

Goodrich Corporation's Sensors Unlimited, Inc. division announces the SU-02-SPC NIR Photon Counter, designed for single-photon counting in the near-infrared spectrum from 0.9–1.6 μm. According to the company, the product's applications include ultrasensitive Raman spectroscopy, semiconductor failure analysis, and singlet oxygen detection. 

The LSI XL-FT flow-through Raman system from Lambda Solutions reportedly features a quartz flow cell custom designed and integrated with proprietary illumination and signal detection optics, provides high sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratios, and includes a built-in independent absorption measurement function for UV or visible wavelengths. 

Featured products from the spectroscopy marketplace.

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Market Profile: Raman Spectroscopy for Security Applications

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