Compact spectrometer
First Claim
1. A method of forming a light distribution from an input light beam with a dispersion spectrometer, the method comprising:
- (i) collimating the input light beam with a first toroidal optical element that collimates the light beam in a vertical plane without collimating the light beam in a horizontal plane that is substantially orthogonal to the vertical plane, to produce a partially collimated light beam;
(ii) producing a partially focused dispersed light beam from the partially collimated light beam, the partially focused dispersed light beam being focused in the horizontal plane without being focused in the vertical plane; and
(iii) focusing the partially focused dispersed light beam in the vertical plane with an optical element that is different from an optical element that forms the partially focused dispersed light beam, to form the light distribution.
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Abstract
Spectrometers, particularly compact spectrometers, are constructed with their spectral performance characteristics being optimized as well as with their instrument/device volume being reduced significantly. The light propagation path, either in transparent media or in free space, of the optical beams emitting from a small input aperture/slit of a spectrometer, is caused to be two-dimensional or unilateralized (propagating within a thin layer of air or media), enabling physical sizes of any optical elements needed thereafter to construct a spectrometer to be reduced significantly in one dimension. As a result, a significant reduction of instrument/device volume (in one dimension or even in two dimensions) is achieved, which is applicable to and beneficial to either a classical dispersion spectrometer or a compact dispersion spectrometer.
246 Citations
75 Claims
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1. A method of forming a light distribution from an input light beam with a dispersion spectrometer, the method comprising:
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(i) collimating the input light beam with a first toroidal optical element that collimates the light beam in a vertical plane without collimating the light beam in a horizontal plane that is substantially orthogonal to the vertical plane, to produce a partially collimated light beam; (ii) producing a partially focused dispersed light beam from the partially collimated light beam, the partially focused dispersed light beam being focused in the horizontal plane without being focused in the vertical plane; and (iii) focusing the partially focused dispersed light beam in the vertical plane with an optical element that is different from an optical element that forms the partially focused dispersed light beam, to form the light distribution. - 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, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A spectrometer that forms a light distribution on a detection plane from an input light beam, the spectrometer comprising:
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(i) first collimating optics that collimates the input light beam with a toroidal optical element that collimates the light beam in a vertical plane without collimating the input light beam in a horizontal plane that is substantially orthogonal to the vertical plane so as to produce a partially collimated light beam; (ii) light beam collimating-dispersing-focusing optics that produces a partially focused dispersed light beam from the partially collimated light beam, the partially focused dispersed light beam being focused in the horizontal plane without being focused in the vertical plane; and (iii) second focusing optics that focuses the partially focused dispersed light beam in the vertical plane to form the light distribution on the detection plane. - View Dependent Claims (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, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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Specification