High power acoustic resonator with integrated optical interfacial elements
First Claim
1. An optical interfacial element integrated with a high power acoustic resonator to provide for acoustic cleaning of an optical surface or surfaces of the optical interfacial element, comprising:
- a high power acoustic resonator, wherein the high power acoustic resonator comprises;
an acoustic body having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end comprises a base of the acoustic body and the second end defines a surface with an opening disposed in the defined surface configured to provide access to an interior of the acoustic body;
a transducer coupled with the first end and configured to vibrate the acoustic body;
an optical interfacial element coupled with the acoustic body, disposed at or proximal to the opening and configured to provide for the transmission of electromagnetic radiation into and out of the optical interfacial elements, wherein;
the optical interfacial element is also configured to seal the interior of the acoustic body from an external environment; and
the acoustic body is configured to provide for transmitting the vibrations of the acoustic body onto the acoustic element to acoustically clean the optical element;
an optical system configured to provide an optical path or paths between the first end of the acoustic body and the optical interfacial element located in the opening in the second end of the acoustic body.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for integrating optical interfacial elements with a high power acoustic resonator. More specifically, but not by way of limitation, in certain embodiments of the present invention, one or more optical interfacial elements may be integrated with a high power acoustic resonator to provide a robust sensing device that may provide for acoustic cleaning of the optical interfacial elements and/or combining optical and acoustic measurements made by the integrated system for analysis purposes. In certain aspects, the high power acoustic resonator may include an acoustic horn for focusing acoustic energy and the optical interfacial elements may be integrated with the acoustic horn.
-
Citations
59 Claims
-
1. An optical interfacial element integrated with a high power acoustic resonator to provide for acoustic cleaning of an optical surface or surfaces of the optical interfacial element, comprising:
-
a high power acoustic resonator, wherein the high power acoustic resonator comprises; an acoustic body having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end comprises a base of the acoustic body and the second end defines a surface with an opening disposed in the defined surface configured to provide access to an interior of the acoustic body; a transducer coupled with the first end and configured to vibrate the acoustic body; an optical interfacial element coupled with the acoustic body, disposed at or proximal to the opening and configured to provide for the transmission of electromagnetic radiation into and out of the optical interfacial elements, wherein; the optical interfacial element is also configured to seal the interior of the acoustic body from an external environment; and the acoustic body is configured to provide for transmitting the vibrations of the acoustic body onto the acoustic element to acoustically clean the optical element; an optical system configured to provide an optical path or paths between the first end of the acoustic body and the optical interfacial element located in the opening in the second end of the acoustic body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. An optical interfacial device with combined optical and acoustical elements configured to provide for analyzing a material located at or near an optical interfacial element, comprising:
-
a high power acoustic resonator, wherein the high power acoustic resonator comprises; an acoustic body having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end comprises a base and the second end defines a surface with an opening in said defined surface; a transducer coupled with the first end and configured to vibrate the acoustic body, wherein the acoustic body is configured to transmit acoustic energy produced by the high power acoustic resonator onto the surface defined by the second end; an optical system disposed within the high power acoustic resonator and configured to provide an optical path or paths from the first end to the opening in the surface defined by the second end; and the optical interfacial element coupled with the second end of the acoustic body and disposed to provide for transmission of electromagnetic radiation into or out of the optical system through said optical interfacial element, wherein the optical interfacial element is further configured to seal the opening from an external environment, and wherein the optical interfacial element is configured to provide an external interface for optically analyzing the material. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
-
-
55. A method for acoustically cleaning an optical interfacial element integrated with a high power acoustic resonator, comprising the steps of:
-
vibrating the high power acoustic resonator, wherein the high power acoustic resonator is coupled with the optical interfacial element; and transmitting the vibrations of the high power acoustic resonator onto the optical interfacial element to provide for acoustic cleaning of the optical element. - View Dependent Claims (56)
-
-
57. A method for acousto-optically determining physical properties of a substance located at a sensing surface of a high power acoustic resonator, the sensing surface comprising a surface of an optical interfacial element that is optically coupled with an optical conduit passing through the high power acoustic resonator, comprising the steps of:
-
oscillating the high power acoustic resonator in a resonance mode; monitoring a frequency of the resonance mode of the high power acoustic resonator; transmitting a beam of electromagnetic radiation down the optical conduit, through the optical element and onto the substance; reflecting a portion of the beam of electromagnetic radiation from the substance or transmitting the beam through the substance; measuring one or more spectral properties of the portion of the electromagnetic beam reflected from, or transmitted through, the substance; and processing the frequency of the resonance mode and the one or more spectral properties to determine the physical properties of the substance - View Dependent Claims (58, 59)
-
Specification