Evaluation of Silicon Wafer-Based Internal Reflection Elements for Use with in Situ Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy

Silicon wafer-based internal reflection elements (IREs) present many practical advantages over the prisms conventionally used for attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy in the infrared. We examine two methods of using minimally prepared IREs that have appeared in the literature, edge-coupled (EC) and prism-coupled (PC), in conjunction with a liquid flow cell. Polarization measurements show that radiation entering the PC-IRE becomes...