Spectoscopic sampling accessory having dual measuring and viewing systems
First Claim
1. A microspectrometer accessory, comprising:
- a viewing system occupying a first segment of a sample aperture, the viewing system projecting an image of an observation area of a specimen plane to a remote visual image at a viewing magnification, anda spectroscopic measuring system occupying a second segment of the sample aperture that is separate from the first segment, the spectroscopic measuring system comprising at least a first set of identical symmetrical aberration canceling imaging mirror optics that map the specimen plane with at least a first remote focus, the specimen plane including a measuring area, the spectroscopic measuring system having a specimen magnification that is less than the viewing magnification, and the measuring area being smaller than the observation area.
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Abstract
A microscope accessory uses symmetrical pairs of identical parabolic mirrors as an imaging optic to map a specimen plane with a remote focus. A mask at the remote focus defines at least one measuring area for making spectroscopic measurements while a separate viewing system simultaneously provides a wide field of view of the sample at higher magnification. The sample aperture, defines as 2T sterradians of solid angle surrounding each side of the specimen plane, is multiplexed between and among different functions--such as spectroscopic measurements and visual observations. The high numerical aperture possible using identical symmetrical aberration canceling (ISAC) optics facilitates the aperture multiplexing which has particular advantage in making reflectance measurements without any need for a significant loss of throughput efficiency.
96 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A microspectrometer accessory, comprising:
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a viewing system occupying a first segment of a sample aperture, the viewing system projecting an image of an observation area of a specimen plane to a remote visual image at a viewing magnification, and a spectroscopic measuring system occupying a second segment of the sample aperture that is separate from the first segment, the spectroscopic measuring system comprising at least a first set of identical symmetrical aberration canceling imaging mirror optics that map the specimen plane with at least a first remote focus, the specimen plane including a measuring area, the spectroscopic measuring system having a specimen magnification that is less than the viewing magnification, and the measuring area being smaller than the observation area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of spectroscopic measuring which involves mapping a specimen plane with a remote focus, comprising:
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supplying more than half of a beam of radiant energy to a first segment of an aperture of an imaging mirror optic, the imaging mirror optic focusing the more than half of the beam of radiant energy at a specimen plane, collecting most of any radiant energy that is specularly reflected from the specimen plane using a second segment of the aperture of the imaging mirror optic, the second segment being separate from the first segment, and directing substantially all of the reflected radiant energy, as collected, to a detector to produce a spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An accessory for multiplexing spectroscopic measuring using a spectrometer, comprising:
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an imaging mirror objective having an input aperture, an output aperture and mapping a remote focus at a specimen plane with at least one remote focus, a supply of a first type of radiant energy to a first segment of the input aperture, a first optical system occupying a first segment of the output aperture, a second optical system occupying a second segment of the output aperture that is separate from the first segment, and a detector for the spectrometer, the detector being a part of at least one of the optical systems. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An accessory for multiplexing spectroscopic measuring using a spectrometer, comprising:
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a imaging mirror objective having an input aperture, an output aperture and mapping a specimen plane with at least one remote focus, a supply of a first type of radiant energy to a first segment of the input aperture, a supply of a second type of radiant energy to a second segment of the input aperture that is separated from the first segment, a first optical system occupying a first segment of the output aperture, and a detector for the spectrometer, the detector being a part of at least the first optical system. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. An accessory for multiplexing spectroscopic measuring using a spectrometer, comprising
at least one set of identical symmetrical aberration canceling imaging mirrors having an aperture that occupies at least a segment of a sample aperture about a sample, the one set of identical symmetrical aberration canceling imaging mirrors mapping a remote focus with a specimen plane, the identical symmetrical imaging mirrors having first and second segments, the first segment being separate from the second segment, a supply of more than half of a beam of radiant energy to the first segment, and an output which directs from the second segment substantially all of the radiant energy from the first segment that is specularly reflected at the specimen plane to a detector for a spectrometer.
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29. A method of multiplexing spectroscopic measuring using a spectrometer, the spectrometer having a detector, an input aperture, an output aperture and at least one imaging mirror optic, comprising
imaging the input aperture with the output aperture by mapping a focus at a specimen plane with at least one remote focus, supplying a first type of radiant energy to a first segment o the input aperture, delimiting a measuring area on the specimen plane at the remote focus using the first type of radiant energy, supplying a first type of radiant energy from the specimen plane to a first segment of the output aperture, simultaneously supplying the first type of radiant energy from the specimen plane to a second segment of the output aperture that is separate from the first segment, and directing the first type of radiant energy from at least one of the segments of the output aperture to the detector.
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33. A method of multiplexing spectroscopic measuring using a spectrometer, the spectrometer having a detector, an input aperture, an output aperture and at least one imaging mirror optic, comprising
imaging an input aperture with an output aperture by mapping a focus at a specimen plane with at least one remote focus, supplying a first type of radiant energy to a first segment of the input aperture, delimiting the measuring area on the specimen plane at the remote focus using the first type of radiant energy, simultaneously supplying a second type of radiant energy to a second segment of the input aperture that is separate from the first segment, simultaneously delimiting the measuring area on the specimen plane at the remote focus using the second type of radiant energy, and supplying one of the first or second types of radiant energy from the specimen plane to the detector by way of a first segment of the output aperture.
Specification