U.S. Patent No. 7,932,095 & UK Patent No. GB2372102

ICL’s new Real Crystal® IR sample cards provide a conveniently mounted non-absorbing substrate for qualitative infrared analysis. They are ideal for liquids, mulls, film casting from solutions and pyrolosis samples. The 2" x 4" cards are available with 9.5mm, 15mm and 19mm clear apertures and they will fit in the universal slide mount of any spectrophotometer. Space is provided to write on the card to identify the date of the analysis, the sample identity and the name of the analyst.

Real Crystal® IR cards do not exhibit the strong absorbance peaks found in PTFE and polyethylene sample substrates(see Fig. 1 & Fig. 2 below). Real Crystal® IR cards are also unlike screen cards, which allow sample films to break within a few seconds when the card is placed in the vertical position and which cut off a significant amount of energy. Real Crystal® IR cards perform like what these cards are trying to emulate--real crystals. The alkali halide sample support substrates (KBr, KCl and NaCl) used in Real Crystal® IR sample cards transmit in excess of 80% of the available energy with 15mm and 19mm apertures and in excess of 70% of the available energy with 9.5mm apertures (see Figs. 3, 4 & 5 below). In fact, the new Real Crystal® IR cards perform every bit as well as the crystal blanks that the 3M® cards sought to emulate. Yet, Real Crystal® IR cards are inexpensive and disposable because ICL's process eliminates many of the costly steps required to produce a crystal blank.

ICL has prepared these cards with a method that makes them relatively impervious to atmospheric moisture, thus eliminating storage issues. And as single use sample substrates, they can be used with aqueous samples. (See Fig. 6 below).

Real Crystal® cards are also available with crystal cover slips. These small square crystal windows can be used with the 19mm diameter aperture IR cards to sandwich a sample between the crystal window mounted in the IR card and the cover slip window to facilitate use of the cards for mulls and volatile liquid samples.