Smoothing and Differentiation of Spectroscopic Curves Using Spline Functions

The use of B-splines for smoothing and differentiation of spectroscopic curves has been investigated. The theory of B-splines and their use are outlined. For single Lorentzian and Gaussian curves, optimal spline functions of degrees 3–7 inclusive, based on symmetric arrangements of 5, 6, and 7 knots, have been computed. Various schemes for the automatic selection of knots used in fitting experimental curves have been investigated and some schemes have been applied to data obtained by Raman spectroscopy.