About us – SPECTRAL Industries

LEARN ABOUT OUR TEAM AND Technology

About Spectral

SPECTRAL Industries is a high-tech company that develops unique optical sensor systems for non-contact chemical analysis. We apply our very robust and sensitive instrument platform for demanding industrial applications. Applications range from mining to recycling and material processing. SPECTRAL realizes new products by combining academic and practical knowledge and cooperating intensively with high-tech parties around the globe. We focus on realizing unique solutions, where the combination of robustness, mobility and accuracy is of paramount importance.

Scientific spectroscopy is a common tool in laboratories next to the production facilities. Based on sample taking, the production is monitored by these instruments. SPECTRAL envisions these labs will become redundant, as most analysis will take place in-line, during production. This does not require new knowledge – it requires the development of instruments based on existing technology that can operate in a 24/7 harsh environment.

Meet the team

Flexible and responsive to customer challenges, superfast PhD-level team that combines ample experience with state-of-the-art knowledge.

Ad Maas

CEO

Marijn Sandtke

CTO

Pepijn Kenter

Software Engineer

Marinus Dalm

Scientific Employee

Fanuel Mehari

Scientific Employee

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Our Technology

LASER-INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY

Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an emission spectroscopy technique that provides an elemental fingerprint of the sample under investigation.

A LIBS measurement starts with an energetic laser pulse. The laser pulse is tightly focused onto the sample of interest to form a plasma. From this plasma highly discrete colors of light are emitted, called emission lines; these lines are characteristic for the elements present in the sample. A spectrometer unravels the different colors emitted from the sample and creates a spectrum. A digital camera captures the spectrum and dedicated software translates the emitted spectrum into the composition of the sample. Because all elements emit light at characteristic frequencies when excited, LIBS can in principle detect all elements, limited only by the amount of energy present in the plasma and the wavelength range of the used spectrometer.

THE BENEFITS OF LIBS ARE:

LIBS can be applied on any type of sample: solid, liquid, and gas. It is not limited to liquids like ICP-OES or conducting solids like arc/spark emission.
LIBS is able to determine the elemental composition of a sample with speeds exceeding 50 measurements per second. Most elemental techniques like mass spectroscopy and XRF take seconds to provide an answer.
Unlike XRF, LIBS is able to cover the whole periodic table. Even the lighter elements like B and Li can be detected at very low concentrations.
The LIBS plasma is generated in the open atmosphere, negating the need for large argon flows or expensive consumables which are used in ICP instrumentation.

By using a telescope or fibers, the laser beam can be delivered to locations far away from the instrumentation. This makes LIBS suitable for the monitoring of processes in which the instrumentation cannot be placed close to the sample, such as metal furnaces or hazardous waste sites.
Unlike most competing techniques, sample preparation is not needed for a successful LIBS measurement.
Precise control over the laser spot size allows surface mapping and depth profiling.