Fourier-transform spectrometers
First Claim
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1. A spectrometer, comprising:
- a source of a primary beam of radiant energy;
a beamsplitter fixed in relation to the primary beam, for dividing primary beam into at least first and second energy beams which follow first and second optical paths;
a tunable solid-state reference laser coupled to the spectrometer through a filter;
at least one return reflector for reflecting the first beam back to the beamsplitter;
at least one radiant energy detector;
a control, data acquisition and processing electronic system;
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Abstract
A novel tilt-compensated interferometer geometry is described. The design uses tilt- and shear-compensation optics to simultaneously maintain high throughput and precise interferometric alignment, even in the presence of non-ideal scanning motions. The tilt-compensation mechanism consists of a novel beamsplitter/reflector assembly that produces two anti-parallel beams. A variety of enhancements to the basic design are described, providing a family of related interferometer designs. These interferometers have applications in spectrometry, spectral imaging and metrology.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A spectrometer, comprising:
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a source of a primary beam of radiant energy;
a beamsplitter fixed in relation to the primary beam, for dividing primary beam into at least first and second energy beams which follow first and second optical paths;
a tunable solid-state reference laser coupled to the spectrometer through a filter;
at least one return reflector for reflecting the first beam back to the beamsplitter;
at least one radiant energy detector;
a control, data acquisition and processing electronic system;
- View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 15)
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2. A spectrometer, comprising:
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a source of a primary beam of radiant energy;
a beamsplitter fixed in relation to the primary beam, for dividing primary beam into at least first and second energy beams which follow first and second optical paths;
at least one return reflector for reflecting the first beam back to he beamsplitting means;
at least one radiant energy detector;
a control, data acquisition and processing electronic system;
a roof reflector rigidly coupled to the beamsplitter for the purpose of folding the second beam by an angle;
- View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 16)
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3. A spectrometer, comprising:
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a source of a primary beam of radiant energy;
a beamsplitter fixed in relation to the primary beam, for dividing primary beam into at least first and second energy beams which follow first and second optical paths;
at least one return reflector for reflecting the first beam back to the beamsplitting means;
at least one radiant energy detector;
a control, data acquisition and processing electronic system;
at least one flat compensator plate, having parallel faces, which may be scanned by nutation to vary the optical path difference;
- View Dependent Claims (10, 17)
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14. the spectrometer of claim I where the radiation detector detects an optically subtracted beam;
Specification