Keywords

Planetary Science, Spectroscopy, O-PTIR, Instrumentation, Mineralogy, Planetary Materials

Abstract

Optical PhotoThermal InfraRed (O-PTIR) is a relatively new spectroscopy method for studying materials. It produces transmission-like spectra using a remote reflectance technique that is rapid, requires little sample preparation, and is well-suited for the technique to be adapted for a space flight instrument. The method involves a tunable pulsed IR laser creating a photothermal effect on the surface of a material and measuring the distortion of a probing visible laser in the same region of the sample, which can be obtained at sub-micron spatial resolutions. A measurement campaign was performed utilizing Photothermal Spectroscopy Corporation's O-PTIR instrument, mIRage®. In this campaign, individual minerals were analyzed using the O-PTIR technique, and their spectra were compared to existing transmission and reflectance spectra. Additionally, Space Resource Technologies (SRT) soil simulant mixtures were also analyzed to attempt to determine mineral contributions to the mixtures' spectra. Samples were prepared using cylindrical sample holders adhered to glass slides which could easily and cleanly be mounted into the instrument. Hyperspectral maps of various sizes (dependent on grain size) were made, and their spectra were averaged to produce a single spectrum for each mineral and mixture. Constituent material spectra were compared to available spectra based on spectral features and corresponding peaks. Similarly, various SRT simulants representative of lunar (LHS-2, LMS-2, and LSP-2) and martian (JHZ-1 and MGS-1) surfaces were analyzed as well as their constituent materials in order to determine the contribution each mineral makes to the simulant mixture. It was found that data produced with the mIRage® instrument closely resembled transmission spectra in most cases and shared spectral shapes with reflectance spectra at mid-IR wavenumbers (980 - 1800 cm−1 ). Further, the instrument's performance was found to outperform commonly used techniques regarding speed, in some cases spatial resolution, and a reduced need for sample preparation. This work will support future prototyping of an instrument for in situ material analysis.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Brisset, Julie

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Physics

Degree Program

Physics; Planetary Sciences Track

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028399

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028399

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

May 2024

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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