High-speed, rugged, time-resolved, raman spectrometer for sensing multiple components of a sample
First Claim
1. A Raman spectroscopy system comprising:
- a light source for producing light to be directed at a sample;
a time-division multiplexing device for taking Stokes radiation scattered from the sample as a result of said light impinging on said sample and distributing that Stokes radiation to each of a plurality of filters;
a light transmission channel from each of the filters to a detector;
a synchronizing circuit for turning on said detector at the time that a signal from said multiplexing device is expected at said detector; and
analysis means connected to said detector for processing each signal from said detector to detect selected information in each signal.
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Abstract
A new architecture for implementing a time-resolved Raman spectrometer is 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than current systems. The system additionally is compact, environmentally rugged, low cost and can detect multiple components of a sample simultaneously. In one embodiment, the invention employs a rotating optical switch to time multiplex an input signal through multiple bandpass filters and into a single optical detector which is electrically activated only when the filtered input light pulse is about to impact it.
The combination of time-multiplexing the input signal through multiple optical filters and time-sequencing the optical detector enables the device to detect and analyze 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than current designs, processing spectra within milliseconds instead of seconds. The system can process multiple material samples (25+) simultaneously, instead of sequentially, and its mechanical ruggedness and simplicity enables using the system in harsh physical environments when traditional spectrometers can not be used reliably.
13 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A Raman spectroscopy system comprising:
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a light source for producing light to be directed at a sample; a time-division multiplexing device for taking Stokes radiation scattered from the sample as a result of said light impinging on said sample and distributing that Stokes radiation to each of a plurality of filters; a light transmission channel from each of the filters to a detector; a synchronizing circuit for turning on said detector at the time that a signal from said multiplexing device is expected at said detector; and analysis means connected to said detector for processing each signal from said detector to detect selected information in each signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A Raman spectroscopy system comprising:
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a time-division multiplexing device for distributing Stokes radiation scattered from a sample as a result of light impinging on said sample to each of a plurality of transmission channels; a light detector for detecting the Stokes radiation passed by each of said transmission channels a synchronizing circuit for turning on said detector when Stokes radiation from said multiplexing device is expected at said detector; and a plurality of filters formed on a one-to-one basis as a part of said plurality of transmission channels. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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Specification