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   I see that in the literature, and it uses the same hobgoblin as the FTIR - the   
   moving mirror in an interferometer.   
      
      
   I wonder how difficult it is to cook up such a device within, say, 2 weeks.   
   And I hear the "splush" of quick sand. But open to any opinions.   
      
   I would try to cannabalize a micrometer caliber and drive it with a stepper   
   motor. This contraption has to be pointed at something to get a signal. Same   
   for FTIR reflectometry.   
      
   I'd much rather push the complexity into the electronics-software domain AMAP.   
   In that line of wishful thinking, it would be dreamy to have a special filter   
   in front of a cmos sensor. Presto! The output of the cmos sensor would be an   
   interferogram of the FT, suitable for analysis.   
      
   Several academic groups have made noises along these lines, one in Japan, but   
   researchers continue to use the moving mirror.   
      
   Any of you have any opinions on the difficulty of a portable, non-invasive   
   device like this for FTNIR reflectometry? I immediately think of a DVD RW   
   device. The FTNIR is much simpler, but the guts of the devices seem to bear   
   some resemblances...   
      
   In sum, 2 questions:   
      
   1. How daunting is it to whip up a FTNIR?   
      
      
   and...   
      
   2. Any insight into other means to do this?   
      
      
   As an after-thought, the FTNIR or interferogram has too much information for   
   the average discrimanant task. I see papers saying just <10 Fourier components   
   and wavelengths are needed. Perhaps there's a short cut there, the optics   
   equivalent of the FFT. Wake me when you have the answer. :)   
      
   j   
      
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