This paper introduces an alternative, easy-to-implement spectrum comparison concept. The evaluation procedure is illustrated by artificial and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectra, which it can also be extended to other spectrometries (e.g., ultraviolet-visible or UV-Vis and Raman). The evaluation for the comparison of two spectra is divided into four phases: (i) spectrum pre-treatment (e.g., smoothing and background correction), (ii) standard normal variate (SNV) transformation, (iii) regression analysis of SNV spectra, and (iv) calculation of the quantification index (FG). The FG is derived from the formula of R2. It characterizes and quantifies the identity and/or similarity of the compared spectra.
Keywords: SNV; Standard normal variate; congruence; quantification index; regression analysis; spectrum comparison.