Spectroradiometer

Characteristic spectral power distributions (SPDs) for an incandescent lamp (left) and a fluorescent lamp (right). The horizontal axes are in nanometers and the vertical axes show relative intensity in arbitrary units.

Spectroradiometers are instruments designed to measure the spectral power distributions of illuminants. They operate almost like spectrophotometers in the visible region. They are commonly used to evaluate and categorize lighting for sales by the manufacturer, or for the customers to confirm the lamp they decided to purchase is within their specifications. They are also often used in environmental applications, to measure the spectrum of solar radiation at the Earth's surface.

Spectroradiometers are frequently used to calibrate LCD and CRT displays such as on laptops and HDTVs. CIE color values are measured and compared to predefined values, to ensure that the color displayed is correct, thus removing color variance between multiple displays.

See also

• Spectrometer
• Spectroradiometry

External links

• Optical Test and Calibration can help with Spectroradiometer Spectral Measurements