January 29, 2026
SPECTRE 11 is now fully compatible with Windows 11, providing reliable support on modern systems with improved performance and overall stability. Below is a list of additional new features included in this release. Customizable Spectra Traces Adjust colors, line width, and line styles for publication-ready graphics. Adjustable Plot Limits Users can now define custom axis […]
August 28, 2025
Discover how the portable 410-Solar Reflectometer matches up against the laboratory spectrophotometer Perkin Elmer Lambda-950.
August 25, 2025
Reprint of SOC founder Dr. Ternay Neu’s article in Laser Focus World, discussing the benefits of the SOC-100 hemiellipsodial mirror over conventional FTIR spectrometers.
February 19, 2025
Data comparison of the 410-Solar portable reflectometer vs. the Agilent Cary 5000 lab reflectometer for solar reflectance of roofing materials and coatings.
February 3, 2025
Thermal emissivity is a fundamental property of materials that describes their ability to emit thermal radiation normalized to an ideal blackbody (i.e. 0-1 scale). This characteristic is crucial in applications ranging from aerospace thermal coatings to solar energy harvesting to environmentally friendly building materials, where understanding and controlling heat transfer can significantly impact safety, efficiency, […]
January 11, 2025
NASA is targeting late February 2025 to launch the agency’s next astrophysics observatory, SPHEREx. The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer—will take stock of the sky in optical and near-infrared light over two years. Scientists will use it to study about 450 million galaxies, with an additional haul […]
August 1, 2024
As we push the envelope to devise creative solutions to global problems, researchers have concentrated their efforts on the emerging field of metasurfaces. A metasurface is an engineered two-dimensional material designed to manipulate electromagnetic waves, such as light, in ways that are not possible with natural materials. These surfaces consist of arrays of subwavelength structures, […]
August 28, 2023
In the context of reflectance measurements, the specular and diffuse components refer to different ways in which light interacts with a surface and is reflected or scattered. Specular Reflection Specular reflection refers to the mirror-like reflection of light from a surface. When light hits a smooth and polished surface, such as a glass mirror or […]
September 23, 2020
Space-based construction materials must meet a range of requirements: mechanical robustness, lightweight characteristics, and tolerance to heat. There are three optical requirements for heat management to protect sensitive instrumentation and personnel: high solar reflectance, high thermal emissivity, and a sufficiently diffuse surface. These properties ensure that the spacecraft will remain cool, and the thermal control […]
June 13, 2018
Determining the optical properties of complex surfaces for signature analysis can be problematic. Materials with surface structures, e.g, crinkled or patterned foil appliques, or striated or ribbed surfaces will produce a non-isotropic BRDF, which can be difficult to measure and represent in signature models. This paper will describe an analytical approach to predicting the optical […]