Guide to UV Measurement
Ten-Nanometer Integration
Analyzing the radiant energy from a bulb by grouping spectral energy into 10-nanometer bands yields a distribution plot (or table) which is more convenient to apply to spectral power and energy calculations than fine-resolution data. This distribution may be applied to the radiant output of a lamp, or to the irradiance at a surface.
Using 10-nm Integration of a lamp emission can reduce the entire UV Spectrum to 25 data points. This makes the overlay of photoinitiator response or radiometer response relatively easy. Importantly it “evens out” the complex emission and allows easy quantification of radiant power. Most importantly, the bulb radiant power can be expressed accurately, in watt/10 nm.
Comparison of 1-nm iresolution and 10-nm integration for a mercury source:
Note that the vertical scale of the fine resolution curve on the left is necessarity “Arbitrary Units” or “Relative Units,” because the absolute value of line emission is difficult to calibrate. The vertical scale of the 10nm integration, on the right can easily be analyzed in watts/10nm.