USB UV-Vis Spectrometer 200–1000 nm with CCD Array Detector

From the ultraviolet Wood's anomaly at 200 nm to the near-infrared water absorption band at 970 nm — 800 nm of optical spectrum captured simultaneously in 5 milliseconds.

Array spectrometers replace the scanning monochromator with a dispersive element (diffraction grating) and a CCD or CMOS array detector, capturing all wavelengths simultaneously. The grating diffracts incoming light by the equation mλ = d(sin α + sin β), distributing it across 2048 detector pixels — each pixel resolving ~0.4 nm. This enables real-time absorption spectroscopy (Beer-Lambert law: A = εcl), fluorescence emission mapping, and transmission measurements. Applications include plasma emission analysis, UV-LED characterization, mineral identification, solar irradiance measurement, and teaching Beer's law directly.

• Wavelength range: 200–1000 nm; 2048-pixel CCD array, 0.5 nm optical resolution
• 5 ms minimum integration time; SNR >1000:1 (at full well capacity)
• SMA-905 fiber optic input; USB 2.0 powered (no external supply needed)
• Windows/Mac/Linux SDK; Python library; real-time absorbance, transmission, and irradiance modes

Every purchase directly funds independent physics research at the Golden Physics Project.

Expert Analysis

A CCD-array spectrometer covering 200–1000nm represents the same fundamental measurement capability used in analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and environmental science laboratories worldwide. Unlike a scanning monochromator that sweeps one wavelength at a time, the array detector captures the full spectrum simultaneously — a complete absorption or emission spectrum in milliseconds. The 200nm UV coverage enables measurement of aromatic compound absorption, protein quantification at 280nm, and nucleic acid concentration at 260nm. The 1000nm near-infrared extension covers chlorophyll absorption, water bands, and NIR chromophores relevant to plant physiology and materials characterization.

At this price, sensitivity and stray-light performance are competitive with research-grade instruments that cost five to ten times as much a decade ago — a reflection of advances in array detector technology, not compromises in measurement capability. The SMA-905 fiber optic input accepts standard optical fibers for remote sampling in geometrically constrained situations. Connection to Python via the open-source python-seabreeze library makes this a genuinely programmable research instrument — build automated sampling sequences, integrate into a flow cell, or run continuous environmental monitoring.

Few instruments at any price offer this range of experimental possibilities. Measure Beer-Lambert absorption coefficients quantitatively, characterize LED and laser emission spectra, analyze flame colors and plasma emission lines, or build a portable field spectrophotometer using this sensor and a Raspberry Pi. This instrument opens quantitative optical spectroscopy to small laboratories, science educators, and citizen scientists who previously had no realistic path to real analytical spectrophotometry.