An alternative approach to interferogram collection and processing for a vintage Bomem DA3 Fourier transform spectrometer

Abstract

We describe a new way of collecting data from Bomem DA3 Fourier transform spectrometers, bypassing the original computers used by these instruments, which are obsolete and more prone to failure than other parts of the system. We collect the interferogram, helium-neon reference laser, and a trigger marking zero path di↵erence with a modern computer as a function of time at a high data rate, as opposed to as a function of position along the scanning arm of the interferometer. The interferogram is then reconstructed as