Wedge-filter spectrometer
First Claim
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1. A wedge-filter spectrometer comprising:
- means for spectrally dispersing an incident radiation beam, said dispersing means comprising a first plurality of layers of high (H) index of refraction material and a second plurality of layers of low (L) index of refraction material, individual ones of said H and said L layers overlying one another in a given sequence
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">H LL HLHLHL HH LHLHLH LL HL each of said H and said L layers having a substantially linearly tapered thickness of substantially constant slope, said layers HH being a spacer layer having a predetermined thickness for defining a passband, the thickness being substantially equal to a length associated with a number of whole wavelengths that evenly fit within the thickness of said spacer layer; and
means, optically coupled to said dispersing means, for detecting at a plurality of points within a two-dimensional area a spectrally dispersed radiation beam, the radiation beam being spectrally dispersed by said H and said L layers.
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Abstract
A wedge-filter spectrometer 1 comprises means 10 for spectrally dispersing an incident radiation beam comprising a first plurality of layers of high (H) index of refraction material and a second plurality of layers of low (L) index of refraction material, individual ones of the H and the L layers overlying one another in accordance with a given sequence, each of the H and the L layers having a substantially linearly tapered thickness of substantially constant slope, and means for detecting 17 at a plurality of points a spectrally dispersed radiation beam, the radiation beam being spectrally dispersed by the H and the L layers.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A wedge-filter spectrometer comprising:
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means for spectrally dispersing an incident radiation beam, said dispersing means comprising a first plurality of layers of high (H) index of refraction material and a second plurality of layers of low (L) index of refraction material, individual ones of said H and said L layers overlying one another in a given sequence
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">H LL HLHLHL HH LHLHLH LL HLeach of said H and said L layers having a substantially linearly tapered thickness of substantially constant slope, said layers HH being a spacer layer having a predetermined thickness for defining a passband, the thickness being substantially equal to a length associated with a number of whole wavelengths that evenly fit within the thickness of said spacer layer; and
means, optically coupled to said dispersing means, for detecting at a plurality of points within a two-dimensional area a spectrally dispersed radiation beam, the radiation beam being spectrally dispersed by said H and said L layers. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A wedge-filter spectrometer comprising:
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means for spectrally dispersing an incident radiation beam, said dispersing means comprising a first plurality of layers of high (H) index of refraction material and a second plurality of layers of low (L) index of refraction material, individual ones of said H and said L layers overlying one another in a given sequence, each of said H and said L layers having a substantially linearly tapered thickness of substantially constant slope; means, optically coupled to said dispersing means, for detecting at a plurality of points within a two-dimensional area a spectrally dispersed radiation beam, the radiation beam being spectrally dispersed by said H and said L layers; and at least one interference blocking stack interposed between said incident radiation beam and an upper one of said layers. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15)
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6. A wedge-filter spectrometer comprising:
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a substrate comprised of a material which is substantially transparent to a cone of radiation incident upon a first surface of said substrate, a plurality of linearly tapered interference layers disposed upon a second opposite surface of said substrate, said layers being disposed one upon another in a stacked fashion, each of said layers having a widest thickness along a first edge of said substrate and a narrowest thickness disposed along a second, opposite edge of said substrate, certain ones of said plurality of layers being comprised of a material having a high (H) index of refraction and certain ones of said plurality of layers being comprised of a material having a low (L) index of refraction, said H and L layers being arranged one upon another in accordance with a predetermined sequence for spectrally dispersing the incident radiation; a two dimensional array of radiation detectors being disposed substantially parallel to said first surface of said substrate and underlying said plurality of layers, said array being responsive to said spectrally dispersed radiation at a plurality of points therein; and means for maintaining said array of detectors in a parallel orientation with said upper surface. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 17)
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13. A spectrometer as defined in claim 6 where said substrate is comprised of optical glass and wherein said L material is comprised of silicon dioxide and wherein said H material is comprised of titanium dioxide.
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14. A spectrometer as defined in claim 6 wherein said maintaining means is a tapered layer of optical cement.
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16. A spectrometer as defined in claim 6 wherein said spectrometer is responsive to radiation within a range of wavelengths of approximately 400 nm to 1000 nm and wherein said spectrometer further comprises a plurality of interference blocking stacks disposed upon said first surface of said substrate, each of said stacks being responsive to a given range of wavelengths.
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17. A spectrometer as defined in claim 16 wherein said plurality of interference blocking stacks comprise three interference blocking stacks disposed adjacent one another upon said first surface, said stacks being disposed from said first edge to said second edge.
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18. A wedge-filter spectrometer comprising:
means for spectrally dispersing radiation incident upon a first surface of said dispersing means, said dispersing means comprising a first plurality of layers of high (H) index of refraction material and a second plurality of layers of low (L) index of refraction material, individual ones of said H and said L layers overlying one another in a predetermined sequence, each of said H and said L layers having a substantially linearly tapered thickness of substantially constant slope, the predetermined sequence including a sequence having a plurality of centrally disposed layers having the same index of refraction, a plurality of pairs of layers comprised of a layer of high index of refraction material, a first one of the plurality of pairs of layers being disposed adjacent to a top surface of said centrally disposed layers, a second one of the plurality of pairs of layers being disposed adjacent to a bottom surface of said centrally disposed layers, and a pair of layers each having the same index of refraction disposed adjacent to each of the plurality of pair of layers; and
means, optically coupled to said dispersing means at a second surface opposite the first surface, for detecting with a two-dimensional array of radiation sensors the spectrally dispersed radiation.- View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A wedge-filter spectrometer comprising:
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means for spectrally dispersing radiation incident upon a first surface of said dispersing means, said dispersing means comprising a first plurality of layers of high (H) index of refraction material and a second plurality of layers of low (L) index of refraction material, individual ones of said H and said L layers overlying one another in a predetermined sequence, each of said H and said L layers having a substantially linearly tapered thickness of substantially constant slope; means, optically coupled to said dispersing means at a second surface opposite the first surface, for detecting with a two-dimensional array of radiation sensors the spectrally dispersed radiation; and at least one interference blocking stack interposed between said first surface of said dispersing means and the radiation.
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Specification