ASD FieldSpec 3, User Manual

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© 2010 ASD Inc. 1 FieldSpec® 3 User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction
The FieldSpec® 3 Spectroradiometer is a general-purpose spectrometer
useful in many application areas requiring the measurement of reflectance,
transmittance, radiance, or irradiance.
• A spectrometer is an optical instrument that uses detectors other than
photographic film to measure the distribution of radiation in a particular
wavelength region.
• A spectroradiometer is a special kind of spectrometer that can measure
radiant energy (radiance and irradiance.) Unlike other ASD
spectrometers, the FieldSpec instrument can perform radiance
measurements by default coming from the factory, because its Fiberoptic
cable is fixed.
Note: The Fiberoptic cable significantly affects the factory calibration
required to measure radiance. Many of the other ASD
spectrometers can detach and even interchange Fiberoptic cables,
which can affect the accuracy of such calibrated radiance
measurements.
The FieldSpec spectroradiometer is specifically designed for field
environment remote sensing to acquire visible near-infrared (VNIR) and
short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectra.
Remote sensing is defined as the art and
science of obtaining information about an object without being in direct
physical contact with the object.
The FieldSpec spectroradiometer is a compact, field portable, and precision
instrument with a spectral range of 350-2500 nm and a rapid data collection
time of 0.1 second per spectrum. The FieldSpec spectroradiometer is also
offered in various subsections of the spectral range.
While the most highly regarded features of the FieldSpec spectroradiometer
are performance and field-portability, this instrument also performs well in
the laboratory.