NOISE CANCELLATION IN FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
First Claim
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1. A spectrophotometry system comprising:
- an interferometer for receiving, from a light source, a source light beam and introducing interference effects thereto;
a sealed housing for receiving, from the interferometer, the source light beam having the interference effects;
an optical system within the housing for splitting the source light beam having the interference effects into a reference beam and a sample beam and for directing the reference beam and the sample beam in separate paths;
a reference compartment within the housing, said reference compartment including a reference for interacting with the reference beam wherein said interacting yields an output reference beam having a direction;
a reference light detector for detecting at least a portion of the output reference beam based on the direction of the output reference beam and generating a reference signal representative of the detected light;
a sample compartment within the housing, said sample compartment including a sample for interacting with the sample beam wherein said interacting yields an output sample beam having a direction;
a sample light detector for detecting at least a portion of the output sample beam based on the direction of the output sample beam and generating a sample signal representative of the detected light;
a detector circuit for producing a reference voltage proportional to the reference signal and a difference voltage proportional to the difference between the reference signal and the sample signal; and
a processor configured to determine a spectrum of the sample based on the difference voltage.
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Abstract
Increasing signal to noise ratio in optical spectra obtained by spectrophotometers. An interferometer introduces interference effects into a source light beam. A dual beam configuration splits the source beam having the interference effects into a reference beam and a sample beam. The reference beam interacts with a reference substance and is detected by a reference detector. The sample beam interacts with a sample substance and is detected by a sample detector. An optical spectra of the sample is based on the difference between the detected reference beam and the detected sample beam.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A spectrophotometry system comprising:
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an interferometer for receiving, from a light source, a source light beam and introducing interference effects thereto;
a sealed housing for receiving, from the interferometer, the source light beam having the interference effects;
an optical system within the housing for splitting the source light beam having the interference effects into a reference beam and a sample beam and for directing the reference beam and the sample beam in separate paths;
a reference compartment within the housing, said reference compartment including a reference for interacting with the reference beam wherein said interacting yields an output reference beam having a direction;
a reference light detector for detecting at least a portion of the output reference beam based on the direction of the output reference beam and generating a reference signal representative of the detected light;
a sample compartment within the housing, said sample compartment including a sample for interacting with the sample beam wherein said interacting yields an output sample beam having a direction;
a sample light detector for detecting at least a portion of the output sample beam based on the direction of the output sample beam and generating a sample signal representative of the detected light;
a detector circuit for producing a reference voltage proportional to the reference signal and a difference voltage proportional to the difference between the reference signal and the sample signal; and
a processor configured to determine a spectrum of the sample based on the difference voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A spectrophotometry device, comprising:
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an interferometer for receiving, from a light source, a source light beam and introducing interference effects thereto;
a sealed housing;
a first beam splitter within the housing and in optical communication with the output of the interferometer, said first beam splitter having a transmissive side and a reflective side;
a second beam splitter within the housing and in optical communication with the transmissive side of said first beam splitter;
a third beam splitter within the housing and in optical communication with the reflective side of said first beam splitter;
a reference detecting system within the housing and in optical communication with one of said second and third beam splitters; and
a sample detecting system within the housing and in optical communication with the other of said second and third beam splitters. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of determining an optical spectrum for a sample substance, said method comprising:
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receiving a source beam from an external light source, said source beam comprising light having a plurality of wavelengths;
splitting the source beam into a reference beam and a sample beam;
directing the reference beam into a reference cell having a reference substance therein, said reference substance interacting with the reference beam, said interacting yielding an output reference beam having a direction;
directing the sample beam into a sample cell having the sample substance therein, said sample substance interacting with the sample beam, said interacting yielding an output sample beam having a direction;
detecting at least a portion of the output reference beam and at least a portion of the output sample beam;
generating a reference signal representative of the detected portion of the output reference beam and a sample signal representative of the detected portion of the output sample beam;
generating a reference voltage proportional to the reference signal and a difference voltage proportional to the difference between the reference signal the sample signal; and
determining a spectrum of the sample based on the difference voltage. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification