Spectral microscope

• US 10,830,643 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2019
• Issued: 11/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Aieta, Francesco, Santori, Charles M., Rogacs, Anita
• Primary Examiner(s): Nur, Abdullahi
• Application Number:
  US16/592,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20200033193A1
• Time in Patent Office: 404 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0208 using focussing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or mirrors; performing aberration correction
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0248 using a sighting port, e.g. camera or human eye
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0256 Compact construction
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/2803 using photoelectric array detector
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/30 Measuring the intensity of spectral lines directly on the spectrum itself G01J3/42, G01J3/44 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/4406 Fluorescence spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1434 Optical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/147 the analysis being performed on a sample stream
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/149 specially adapted for sorting particles, e.g. by their size or optical properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/0053 in liquids, e.g. trouble
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1006 for cytology
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6421 Measuring at two or more wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6458 Fluorescence microscopy fluorescence microscopes per se G02B21/0076 and G02B21/16
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/658 enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0008 Microscopes having a simple construction, e.g. portable microscopes
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0096 with photometer devices photometers per se G01J
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/16 adapted for ultraviolet illumination ; Fluorescence microscopes G02B21/0076 takes precedence

Abstract

In one implementation, a spectral microscope may comprise a substrate with a planar lens, the planar lens including a phase profile including an axial focus and an oblique focus, a light source to excite a signal of a particle among a plurality of particles, and a detector to receive light generated from the light source from the axial focus of the planar lens and a spectral color component of the excited signal of the particle from the oblique focus of the planar lens.

Claims

1. A spectral microscope, comprising:

a substrate with a planar lens patterned on the substrate, the planar lens including a phase profile including an axial focus and an oblique focus;

a chip having a channel, wherein the chip is adjacent to the substrate; and

a detector to receive;

light generated from a light source through the chip and the substrate from the axial focus of the planar lens; and

a spectral color component of an excited signal of a particle located in the channel through the chip and the substrate from the oblique focus of the planar lens.

2. The spectral microscope of claim 1, wherein the planar lens is a diffractive lens.

3. The spectral microscope of claim 1, wherein the detector is positioned above the substrate.

4. The spectral microscope of claim 3, wherein the light source is positioned below the chip to excite the signal of the particle such that the detector positioned above the substrate is to receive the light from the axial focus of the planar lens and the spectral color component of the particle from the oblique focus of the planar lens.

5. The spectral microscope of claim 1, wherein the planar lens is a partially reflective lens to reflect the spectral color component to the detector.

6. The spectral microscope of claim 1, wherein the detector is positioned in the chip and located adjacent to the channel.

7. The spectral microscope of claim 6, wherein the light source is positioned above the chip to excite the signal of the particle such that the detector positioned in the chip is to receive the light from the axial focus of the planar lens and the spectral color component of the particle from the oblique focus of the planar lens.

8. A spectral microscope, comprising:

a transparent substrate with a planar lens patterned on the substrate, the planar lens including a phase profile including an axial focus and an oblique focus;

a transparent chip having a channel, wherein the transparent chip is adjacent to the transparent substrate; and

a detector to receive;

light generated from a light source via the transparent chip, the transparent substrate, and the axial focus of the planar lens; and

a spectral color component of an excited signal of a particle located in the channel via the transparent chip, the transparent substrate, and the oblique focus of the planar lens.

9. The spectral microscope of claim 8, wherein the phase profile of the planar lens includes:

an axial phase profile based on the axial focus of the planar lens; and

an oblique phase profile based on the oblique focus of the planar lens.

10. The spectral microscope of claim 8, wherein the detector includes an axial position to receive the light generated from the light source via the transparent chip, the transparent substrate, and the axial focus of the planar lens.

11. The spectral microscope of claim 8, wherein the detector includes a plurality of oblique positions to receive the light generated from the light source via the transparent chip, the transparent substrate, and the oblique focus of the planar lens.

12. The spectral microscope of claim 11, wherein each oblique position of the plurality of oblique positions of the detector corresponds to a particular wavelength of the signal of the particle.

13. The spectral microscope of claim 11, wherein:

the spectral microscope further includes a color filter located between the planar lens and a portion of the oblique positions; and

the color filter is to block an amount of light from the light source.

14. The spectral microscope of claim 8, wherein the signal of the particle is a fluorescent excitation of the particle.

15. A detector, comprising:

a processing resource; and

a memory resource storing non-transitory machine-readable instructions to cause the processing resource to;

detect excitation light being received from an axial focus of a planar lens at an axial position of the detector;

detect a spectral color component of a fluorescent signal of a particle being received at an oblique position of a plurality of oblique positions of the detector from an oblique focus of the planar lens;

determine which oblique position of the plurality of oblique positions received the fluorescent signal; and

determine, by the detector, a wavelength of the fluorescent signal of the particle based on the excitation light and the determined oblique position of the plurality of oblique positions of the detector that received the spectral color component.

16. The detector of claim 15, including instructions to cause the processing resource to image the particle based on the received excitation light.

17. The detector of claim 16, wherein the instructions to image the particle include instructions to cause the processing resource to determine a size of the particle.

18. The detector of claim 16, wherein the instructions to image the particle include instructions to cause the processing resource to determine a shape of the particle.

19. The detector of claim 15, including instructions to cause the processing resource to correct, in response to the spectral color component being received at an erroneous oblique position of the plurality of oblique positions, for a lateral shift of a position of the particle.

20. The detector of claim 19, including instructions to cause the processing resource to correct for the lateral shift utilizing the received excitation light.