Characterization of standard reference material 2944, Bi-ion-doped glass, spectral correction standard for red fluorescence

Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2944 is a cuvette-shaped, Bi-ion-doped glass, recommended for optimal use for relative spectral correction of emission from 590nm to 805nm and day-to-day performance verification of steady-state fluorescence spectrometers. Properties of this standard that influence its effective use or contribute to the uncertainty in its certified emission spectrum were explored here. These properties include its photostability, absorbance, dissolution rate in water, anisotropy and temperature coefficient of fluorescence intensity. The expanded uncertainties (k=2) in the certified spectrum are about 4% around the nominal peak maximum at 704nm and increase to about 6% at the wings, using an excitation wavelength of 515nm.