Miniature spectroscopy pioneer Ocean Optics (www.OceanOptics.com) has added a pulsed xenon light source option for its Jaz modular sensing system. The Jaz-PX is a high flash rate, short-arc xenon lamp especially useful for UV-Vis applications such as absorbance, bioreflectance, fluorescence and phosphorescence. The lamp has maximum pulse frequency of 500 Hz and spectral response from 190-1000 nm.

Jaz is a family of stackable, modular components that share common electronics and communications. At its heart is a miniature linear CCD-array spectrometer, available with user-selected grating and entrance slit optimized for a variety of application needs, in a design that accommodates up to 8 spectrometer channels. Each Jaz stack includes a powerful onboard microprocessor and display, which eliminate the need for a PC. Additional Jaz modules are available for battery operation and Ethernet connectivity, as well as for sample illumination (via UV-Vis and Vis-NIR sources) and excitation (via LEDs).

The Jaz-PX operates in both free running and triggered modes, which allow its pulses to be coordinated with other devices in the Jaz stack. Flash-to-flash stability is <1% and the flash rate is 500 Hz. Jaz-PX has an SMA 905 connector that couples to Ocean Optics accessories, including optical fibers, cuvette holders, probes and other sampling optics. Because it produces a pulsed signal, the Jaz-PX is less likely to cause solarization in optical fiber assemblies, which can occur when fibers are illuminated with signal <260 nm.

In addition, Jaz can be configured for a variety of field, lab and process setups. The Jaz-PX is ideal for field applications such as bioreflectance that require a high-intensity, low-power source as no external power supply is required. When used in t he field, the lamp will operate from the power of the battery for approximately 3.5-4 hours. Additional power is available through an optional 50 Watt-hour Jaz battery extender.