4. Data processing

As mentioned at the start of this article, IR spectroscopy can be used for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Commercial software is becoming more and more effective in assisting the operator in his analysis. Thanks to the increasing technical qualities offered by instrumental devices, the IR spectroscopy user is faced with an exponentially growing mass of spectral data. What's more, spectral quality, at least in terms of signal-to-noise ratio and precision, never achieved before, sometimes in media (aqueous solutions were a pertinent example) inaccessible only a decade ago, is also increasing the amount of data. This has enabled certain analytical applications of MIR and PIR spectroscopy to become methods for predicting the value of a quantitative variable or qualitative estimates (structural, physical parameters, product classification, etc.). Appropriate computer processing will...