For accurate results during a transmission, absorption, reflection, irradiance or colour measurement at different integration times, a good dark measurement is necessary. Taking this dark measurement often leads to having to undertake manual actions, like covering the sensor or switching off the light. This might prove to be problematic with certain applications because of the time and place or operator restraints.

Our solution: a remote-controlled shutter, positioned between the spectrometer entrance and the input fibre. Avantes’ direct-attach shutter is the ideal accessory to facilitate automatic shuttering of a spectrometer. This shutter is operated via TTL pulses from either an external source or an AvaSpec spectrometer through a cable (IC-DB26-AS-SHUTTER-0.6, to be ordered separately).

The DA-Shutter switch unit is directly attached to the spectrometer’s SMA input connector. The fibre that is normally connected to the spectrometer is then connected to the DA-Shutter. This switch unit, as well as the power source and TTL control signal, is connected to the control box. The industrial-graded shutter motor used inside will support heavy usage of the instrument.

With its 5,000,000 cycles, 24/7 operation is supported in most cases. To operate the DA-Shutter, a PS-12V/2.08A 12 volt DC power adapter is required (to be ordered separately).