High Accuracy Spectrophotometry at the National Physical Laboratory

The techniques and equipment used at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to achieve high accuracy spectrophotometric measurements are described and discussed. The emphasis at NPL has always been on the determination of systematic components of error and their elimination or correction rather than on the attainment of mere precision, which is largely a matter of variance and resolution. The scales of regular transmittance, diffuse transmittance, total transmittance of scattering samples, regular reflectance, diffuse reflectance, total reflectance and radiance factor are determined, maintained, and made available in practical form to industry by combined use of a reference NPL manual spectrophotometer and commercial recording spectrophotometers. The presentation will concentrate on transmittance measurements made with the reference instrument, which is designed specifically to allow separate investigation of the various possible sources of systematic error, processes that are not practicable with commercial spectrophotometers. The investigation of the linearity of the complete photoelectronic system has always been a key factor, and double-aperture devices have been used consistently at NPL for over 40 years to monitor the performance of this instrument and its predecessors. Besides instrumentation, the procurement of material standards of suitable quality is a major limitation of the art, and the types in use at NPL are described, including the recently developed Ceramic Colour Standards.