Spectroscopic Optical System
First Claim
1. A method of performing spectroscopy, comprising the steps of:
- illuminating a target with light, with at least some of the light penetrating the target;
collecting at least a portion of the light that penetrates the target from a region on the target'"'"'s surface not directly illuminated by the step of illuminating, wherein at least a majority of the light collected by the step of collecting is light that penetrates the target; and
analyzing a spectrum of at least a portion of the light collected by the step of collecting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Innovative techniques that result in a better signal-to-noise ratio for spectrographic analysis of substances in a target than conventional techniques. In these techniques, light illuminates a target with at least some of the light penetrating the target. At least a portion of the light that penetrates the target is collected from a region on the target'"'"'s surface that is not directly illuminated. Preferably, at least a majority of the collected light is light that penetrates the target. Also preferably, the light that illuminates the target is in a pattern that partially but not completely surrounds the region from which the portion of the light that penetrates the target is collected. A spectrum of at least a portion of the collected light is analyzed.
12 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method of performing spectroscopy, comprising the steps of:
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illuminating a target with light, with at least some of the light penetrating the target; collecting at least a portion of the light that penetrates the target from a region on the target'"'"'s surface not directly illuminated by the step of illuminating, wherein at least a majority of the light collected by the step of collecting is light that penetrates the target; and analyzing a spectrum of at least a portion of the light collected by the step of collecting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of performing spectroscopy, comprising the steps of:
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illuminating a target with light, with at least some of the light penetrating the target; collecting at least a portion of the light that penetrates the target from a region on the target'"'"'s surface not directly illuminated by the step of illuminating; and analyzing a spectrum of at least a portion of the light collected by the step of collecting; wherein the light that illuminates the target is in a pattern that partially but not completely surrounds the region from which the portion of the light that penetrates the target is collected. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A device that performs spectroscopy, comprising:
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a light source that illuminates a target with light, with at least some of the light penetrating the target; collection optics that collect at least a portion of the light that penetrates the target from a region on the target'"'"'s surface not directly illuminated by the light source, wherein at least a majority of the light collected by the collection optics is light that penetrates the target; and spectrographic instrumentation that analyzes a spectrum of at least a portion of the light collected by the collection optics. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A device that performs spectroscopy, comprising:
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a light source that illuminates a target with light, with at least some of the light penetrating the target; collection optics that collect at least a portion of the light that penetrates the target from a region on the target'"'"'s surface not directly illuminated by the light source; and spectrographic instrumentation that analyzes a spectrum of at least a portion of the light collected by the collection optics; wherein the light that illuminates the target is in a pattern that partially but not completely surrounds the region from which the collection optics collect the portion of the light that penetrates the target. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification