| abstract |
A spectroscopic instrument of the type providing an infrared light beam from an infrared light source along an infrared light path, where the infrared light beam includes a wide range of wavelengths of radiation within a target range of from about two microns to about three hundred microns, where the infrared light source includes a supercontinuum source having a CO 2 pumping laser adapted to fire into a solid-core photonic crystal fiber formed at least in part of at least one of AlCl x Br (1-x) , NaCl, and ZnSe, which solid-core photonic crystal fiber produces the infrared light beam when excited by the pumping laser. |