Spectral volume microprobe arrays
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining a characteristic of a sample of material by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the sample, comprising:
- a source of electromagnetic radiation;
illuminating optics for sequentially illuminating a plurality of volume elements in the sample with an intensity distribution in the sample that drops off substantially monotonically from a first region in a first optical path;
collecting optics for collecting electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said volume elements, said collecting optics collecting said electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said volume elements with a collection distribution that drops off substantially monotonically from a second region in a second optical path, said first and second regions at least partially overlapping in each of said volume elements, said illuminating and collecting optics each having respective field stops whose dimensions are large compared to a quotient of wavelength of said electromagnetic radiation divided by a working numerical aperture of said illuminating and collecting optics, respectively, measured from said respective field stops; and
a detector for detecting the collected electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said sequentially illuminated volume elements to produce a response representative of said characteristic in each of said volume elements.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for determining a characteristic of a sample of a material by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the sample. The apparatus includes a source of electromagnetic radiation, an optical assembly and a detector. The optical assembly sequentially illuminates a plurality of volume elements in the sample with an intensity distribution in the sample that drops off substantially monotonically from a first region in a first optical path and collects electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of the volume elements. The optical assembly collects the electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of the volume elements with a collected distribution that drops off substantially monotonically from a second region in a second optical path. The first and second regions at least partially overlap in each of the volume elements. The detector detects the collected electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of the sequentially illuminated volume elements to produce responses representative of the characteristic in each of the volume elements.
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Citations
88 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining a characteristic of a sample of material by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the sample, comprising:
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a source of electromagnetic radiation; illuminating optics for sequentially illuminating a plurality of volume elements in the sample with an intensity distribution in the sample that drops off substantially monotonically from a first region in a first optical path; collecting optics for collecting electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said volume elements, said collecting optics collecting said electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said volume elements with a collection distribution that drops off substantially monotonically from a second region in a second optical path, said first and second regions at least partially overlapping in each of said volume elements, said illuminating and collecting optics each having respective field stops whose dimensions are large compared to a quotient of wavelength of said electromagnetic radiation divided by a working numerical aperture of said illuminating and collecting optics, respectively, measured from said respective field stops; and a detector for detecting the collected electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said sequentially illuminated volume elements to produce a response representative of said characteristic in each of said volume elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. Apparatus for determining a characteristic of a sample of material by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the sample, comprising:
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a source of electromagnetic radiation; an optical assembly for sequentially illuminating a plurality of volume elements in the sample with an intensity distribution in the sample that drops off substantially monotonically from a first region in a first optical path and for collecting electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said volume elements, said optical assembly collecting said electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said volume elements with a collection distribution that drops off substantially monotonically from a second region in a second optical path, said first and second regions at least partially overlapping in each of said volume elements, said optical assembly comprising at least one array of field stops whose dimensions are large compared to a quotient of wavelength of said electromagnetic radiation divided by a working numerical aperture of said optical assembly, measured from said field stops; and a detector for detecting the collected electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said sequentially illuminated volume elements to produce responses representative of said characteristic in each of said volume elements. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 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, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 72)
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70. A method for determining a characteristic of a sample of material by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the sample, comprising the steps of:
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sequentially illuminating, with an optical assembly, a plurality of volume elements in the sample by directing electromagnetic radiation into the sample with an intensity distribution in the sample that drops off substantially monotonically from a first region in a first optical path; sequentially collecting, with said optical assembly, electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said sequentially illuminated volume elements with a collection distribution that drops off substantially monotonically from a second region in a second optical path, said first and second regions at least partially overlapping in each of said volume elements, said optical assembly comprising at least one array of field stops whose dimensions are large compared to a quotient of wavelength of said electromagnetic radiation divided by a working numerical aperture of said optical assembly, measured from said field stops; and detecting the collected electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of said sequentially illuminated volume elements to produce a response representative of said characteristic in each of said volume elements. - View Dependent Claims (71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88)
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Specification