Broad-range spectrometer
First Claim
1. A particle characterization instrument, comprising:
- a first spatially coherent light source having a beam output aligned with an optical axis,a focusing optic positioned along the optical axis after the light source,a sample cell positioned along the optical axis after the focusing optic,a diverging optic positioned along the optical axis after the sample cell, anda first detector positioned outside of the optical axis to receive scattered light within a first range of scattering angles from the diverging optic.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one general aspect, a particle characterization instrument is disclosed that includes a first spatially coherent light source with a beam output aligned with an optical axis. A focusing optic is positioned along the optical axis after the coherent light source, and a sample cell is positioned along the optical axis after the focusing optic. The instrument also includes a diverging optic positioned along the optical axis after the sample cell, and a detector positioned outside of the optical axis to receive scattered light within a first range of scattering angles from the diverging optic. In another general aspect, an instrument can direct at least a portion of a first beam and at least a portion of a second beam along a same optical axis and a can receive scattered light from the sample cell resulting from interaction between the sample and either the first beam or the second beam.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A particle characterization instrument, comprising:
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a first spatially coherent light source having a beam output aligned with an optical axis, a focusing optic positioned along the optical axis after the light source, a sample cell positioned along the optical axis after the focusing optic, a diverging optic positioned along the optical axis after the sample cell, and a first detector positioned outside of the optical axis to receive scattered light within a first range of scattering angles from the diverging optic. - 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, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A particle characterization method, comprising:
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shining a beam of spatially coherent light, focusing the beam of light to produce a focused beam of light, causing the focused beam of light to interact with a plurality of particles to produce scattered light, spreading at least a portion of the scattered light resulting from the interaction between the focused beam and the particles to produce a spread scattered light beam, and detecting at least part of the spread scattered light beam.
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32. A particle characterization instrument, comprising:
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means for shining a beam of spatially coherent light, means for focusing the beam of light to produce a focused beam of light, means for causing the focused beam of light to interact with a constrained plurality of particles to produce scattered light, means for spreading at least a portion of the scattered light resulting from the interaction between the focused beam and the particles to produce a spread scattered light beam, and means for detecting at least part of the spread scattered light beam.
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33. A particle characterization instrument, comprising:
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a first spatially coherent light source having a first wavelength and a first beam output, a second light source having a second wavelength that is different from the first wavelength and having a second beam output, a first optical combiner responsive to the first beam output and to the second beam output and being positioned to direct at least a portion of a first output beam from the first beam output and at least a portion of a second output beam from the second beam output along a same optical axis, a sample cell positioned along the same optical axis such that it can receive the first output beam or the second output beam as they are the directed along the same optical axis, and a first detector positioned outside of the optical axis to receive scattered light from the sample cell resulting from interaction between the sample and either the first output beam or the second outlet beam. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A particle characterization method, comprising:
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shining a first beam of spatially coherent light having a first wavelength, shining a second beam of light having a second wavelength, directing at least one of the first and second beams of light to cause them to shine along a same optical axis, causing the first directed beam of light to interact with a sample including plurality of particles in the optical axis to produce scattered light, detecting the scattered light from the first beam, causing the second directed beam of light to interact with the sample in the optical axis to produce more scattered light, and detecting the scattered light from the second beam. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42)
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43. A particle characterization instrument, comprising:
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means for shining a first beam of spatially coherent light having a first wavelength, means for shining a second beam of light having a second wavelength, means for directing at least one of the first and second beams of light to cause them to shine along a same optical axis, means for causing the first directed beam of light to interact with a sample including a plurality of particles in the optical axis to produce scattered light, and for causing the second directed beam of light to interact with the sample in the optical axis to produce more scattered light, and means for detecting the scattered light from the first beam and the second beam.
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Specification