The Nicolet 8700 is Thermo Electron's premier research FT-IR spectrometer. It provides superior performance and advanced scanning capabilities, including step-scan spectroscopy. Step-scan spectroscopy eliminates Fourier modulation interference encountered in conventional, continuous-scan FT-IR. It also allows measurements to be made as an explicit function of time, phase, or space.

Measurements can be made in a transmission configuration, or a "Smart Performer" accessory can be used for Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) measurements.