Abstract

The interfacing of two spectrophotometric systems to an Apple II microcomputer is described. The first is a flash photometric setup in which light flashes are formed either with a chopper wheel, or with an acousto-optic modulator which is activated by the microcomputer. Spectroscopic transients are monitored with a time resolution as short as 250 ns, by counting photon pulses into the computer's memory in the fast direct memory access mode. The formation half-times of the M₄₁₂ intermediate in the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin were measured in H₂O and in D₂O using the characteristic Raman band of this species, and are 68 ± 2 and 300 ± 5 μs, respectively. A microcomputer-controlled Raman spectrometer, in which the Apple II is interfaced to a Spex monochromator and the photon counting electronics, is also described. These microcomputer-controlled configurations provide simple and inexpensive setups for data collection in flash photometry and Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy.

Application of a microcomputer to optical spectroscopy

D. A. Jackson and R. G. Priest
Appl. Opt. 17(18) 2981-2984 (1978)

High-Resolution Kinetic Spectroscopy by a Multiple-Flash Method*

Henry H. Kramer, Maurice H. Hanes, and Edward J. Bair
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51(7) 775-779 (1961)

Broadly tunable microcomputer-controlled color-center laser for intracavity and extracavity sub-Doppler spectroscopy

H. Adams, R. Brüggemann, P. Dietrich, D. Kirsten, H. Solka, and W. Urban
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 2(5) 815-828 (1985)

Digital Laser Raman Spectrometer System with On-Line Computer Control of Data Acquisition and Reduction

Charles H. Warren and Louis Ramaley
Appl. Opt. 12(8) 1976-1982 (1973)

Photographic Photometry of a Flash Tube Using a High-Speed Streak Camera*

Gordon G. Milne and Norma D. Miller
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 49(12) 1213-1217 (1959)