Abstract: The invention comprises a solid state infrared source apparatus and method of use thereof, comprising: (1) an electrically conductive film comprising: an emission side and a back side opposite the emission side and a surface area to height ratio of at least five hundred to one; (2) a first dielectric film contacting the back side of the electrically conductive film; and (3) a reflective layer, the reflective layer embedded in the solid state source between the first dielectric film and a support layer, wherein the electrically conductive film emits infrared light upon warming with an electrical current during use, the infrared light sequentially reflecting off of the reflective layer, transmitting through the electrically conductive film, and emitting from the solid state source. Preferably the electrically conductive film comprises zinc oxide and the reflective layer is deposited into a basin in a second dielectric film.

Abstract: The invention comprises an infrared source and method of use thereof comprising the steps of: (1) providing a solid state source, comprising: a film of oxide particles comprising an average particle size of less than ten micrometers, gaps between the oxide particles comprising an average gap width of less than ten micrometers, and a heating element embedded in the solid state source; (2) applying a pulsed current to the heating element to heat the heating element; and (3) heating the film of oxide particles to at least seven hundred degrees using thermal conduction from the heating element resultant in the film of oxide particles emitting infrared light in a range of 1.1 to 20 micrometers, where the infrared source operates continuously with heating and cooling of the oxide particles through a differential of at least 200° C. occurs at least five and less than thirty times per second.

Abstract: The invention comprises an infrared source and method of use thereof comprising the steps of: (1) providing a solid state source comprising: an electrically conductive zinc oxide film having a thickness of less than five micrometers and a film of metal oxide particles, the metal oxide particles comprising a mean diameter of less than ten micrometers; (2) passing an alternating, pulsed current through the zinc oxide film, the pulsed current heating the zinc oxide film to greater than 700° C. in less than twenty milliseconds using less than one Watt, which results in a first infrared emission from the zinc oxide film; and (3) heating the film of metal oxide particles, using thermal conduction from the zinc oxide film, to at least 700° C., resultant in a second infrared emission from the film of oxide particles, where the first and second infrared emissions exit the source through an emission side.

Abstract: The invention comprises an infrared source and method of use thereof comprising the steps of: (1) providing a solid state source comprising: an electrically conductive zinc oxide film having a thickness of less than five micrometers and a film of metal oxide particles, the metal oxide particles comprising a mean diameter of less than ten micrometers; (2) passing an alternating, pulsed current through the zinc oxide film, the pulsed current heating the zinc oxide film to greater than 700° C. in less than twenty milliseconds using less than one Watt, which results in a first infrared emission from the zinc oxide film; and (3) heating the film of metal oxide particles, using thermal conduction from the zinc oxide film, to at least 700° C., resultant in a second infrared emission from the film of oxide particles, where the first and second infrared emissions exit the source through an emission side.

Abstract: A compact, lightweight instrument for non-invasive blood analyte determination employs a light source incorporating an assembly of LED's interconnected within a thermally stable substrate. A large diameter mixer couples the signal to a fiber optic probe for delivering the signal to a tissue measurement site. Back-diffused light is collected and dispersed across an array of photo detectors in a miniature spectrometer instrument. A high-speed DSP executes an algorithm for predicting concentration of a target analyte, which is output to a LCD display. Instrument control is by means of keypad or voice recognition. High conversion efficiency of the light source results in extremely low power dissipation and virtually no heat generation, making incorporation of the light source and the spectrometer into a single unit practicable. High-speed pulsing of the signal allows application of high-sensitivity, synchronous detection techniques.

Abstract: A compact, lightweight instrument for non-invasive blood analyte determination employs a light source incorporating an assembly of LED's interconnected within a thermally stable substrate. A large diameter mixer couples the signal to a fiber optic probe for delivering the signal to a tissue measurement site. Back-diffused light is collected and dispersed across an array of photo detectors in a miniature spectrometer instrument. A high-speed DSP executes an algorithm for predicting concentration of a target analyte, which is output to a LCD display. Instrument control is by means of keypad or voice recognition.