Abstract: An infrared (IR) source apparatus that includes a desired infrared source element coupled to an insulating housing so to minimize overall source inefficiency at desired optical bandwidths is introduced. The insulation itself is machined or configured in a way so that the infrared source element is in contact with a designed cavity in the insulation so that the IR source image becomes the average of the insulation material and the infrared element. Such an arrangement of the present invention increases the emissivity of the IR source below about 1500 wave numbers, more often, below about 1100 wave numbers, and even more particularly, at about 1079 wave numbers. Accordingly, the combined emissivity of the infrared source and the insulation substantially enhances spectral emission and eliminates or reduces spectral artifacts from the formation of oxides on the infrared source surfaces.

Abstract: The present invention is thus directed to an automated system of varying the optical path length in a sample that a light from a spectrophotometer must travel through. Such arrangements allow a user to easily vary the optical path length while also providing the user with an easy way to clean and prepare a transmission cell for optical interrogation. Such path length control can be automatically controlled by a programmable control system to quickly collect and stores data from different path lengths as needed for different spectrographic analysis. Moreover, the system utilizes configured wedge shaped windows to best minimize the reflections of light which cause periodic variation in transmission at different wave lengths (commonly described as “channel spectra”). Such a system, as presented herein, is able to return best-match spectra with far fewer computational steps and greater speed than if all possible combinations of reference spectra are considered.

Abstract: A novel means of provided a hybrid flexure mounted moving mirror component in an interferometer is introduced herein. In particular, a linear bearing in combination with a novel flexure mounting having novel tilt and velocity control of the moving optical component is provided. Such an arrangement enables correction of the errors at the mirror itself while also solving the problem of isolating vibration and noise caused by the imperfections in the bearing surfaces used in many conventional interferometers. Using such a coupled flexure mounting of the present invention, in addition to the above benefits, also enhances velocity control because the resultant low mass of the moving mirror assembly enables the systems disclosed herein to respond faster than conventional mirror velocity controlled interferometer instruments and with a lower velocity error so as to provide a more stable and lower noise spectra from the analytical instrument.

Abstract: A novel soft beamsplitter mounting system as part of an interferometer to protect the beamsplitter substrate from external stresses and thus preserve optical flatness is introduced. The soft mounting system enables such protection by being more flexible that the beamsplitter substrate so external forces deforms the mount rather than the beamsplitter. Although the soft beamsplitter mounting configurations disclosed herein protects the beamsplitter, the interferometer itself is less stable because the mounts of the present invention allows the beamsplitter to tilt more easily than other components held in the interferometer. The improved tilt control embodiments of the present invention turns this seemingly deleterious effect into a cost saving benefit by using the inexpensive soft mounting system as a flexure to allow an improved active control system to maintain tilt alignment in a system that is more rugged than conventional interferometers.

Abstract: The present invention is thus directed to an automated system and method of varying the optical path length in a sample that a light from a spectrophotometer must travel through. Such arrangements allow a user to easily vary the optical path length while also providing the user with an easy way to clean and prepare a transmission cell for optical interrogation. Such path length control can be automatically controlled by a programmable control system to quickly collect and stores data from different path lengths as needed for different spectrographic analysis. Such a methodology and system, as presented herein, is able to return best-match spectra with far fewer computational steps and greater speed than if all possible combinations of reference spectra are considered.

Abstract: A novel soft beamsplitter mounting system as part of an interferometer to protect the beamsplitter substrate from external stresses and thus preserve optical flatness is introduced. The soft mounting system enables such protection by being more flexible that the beamsplitter substrate so external forces deforms the mount rather than the beamsplitter. Although the soft beamsplitter mounting configurations disclosed herein protects the beamsplitter, the interferometer itself is less stable because the mounts of the present invention allows the beamsplitter to tilt more easily than other components held in the interferometer. The improved tilt control embodiments of the present invention turns this seemingly deleterious effect into a cost saving benefit by using the inexpensive soft mounting system as a flexure to allow an improved active control system to maintain tilt alignment in a system that is more rugged than conventional interferometers.

Abstract: A novel means of provided velocity control of an interferometer wherein one of the moving components includes the beamsplitter element is introduced herein. Using a moving beamsplitter and coupled flexure mounting allows improved velocity control because the low mass of the beamsplitter enables the systems disclosed herein to respond faster than conventional mirror velocity controlled interferometer instruments with a resultant lower velocity error so as to provide a more stable and lower noise spectra from the analytical instrument. The control of the velocity of the beamsplitter and if desired, one or both of the configured mirrors, reduces the time wasted changing velocity at the ends of each scan. The result is an increase in data collection available in any given experiment time frame. Such desirable arrangements of the present invention thus allow scans to be collected at higher rates, which beneficially increase the ability to monitor rapidly changing systems.

Abstract: A novel means of provided a hybrid flexure mounted moving mirror component in an interferometer is introduced herein. In particular, a linear bearing in combination with a novel flexure mounting having novel tilt and velocity control of the moving optical component is provided. Such an arrangement enables correction of the errors at the mirror itself while also solving the problem of isolating vibration and noise caused by the imperfections in the bearing surfaces used in many conventional interferometers. Using such a coupled flexure mounting of the present invention, in addition to the above benefits, also enhances velocity control because the resultant low mass of the moving mirror assembly enables the systems disclosed herein to respond faster than conventional mirror velocity controlled interferometer instruments and with a lower velocity error so as to provide a more stable and lower noise spectra from the analytical instrument.

Abstract: An infrared (IR) source apparatus that includes a desired infrared source element coupled to an insulating housing so to minimize overall source inefficiency at desired optical bandwidths is introduced. The insulation itself is machined or configured in a way so that the infrared source element is in contact with a designed cavity in the insulation so that the IR source image becomes the average of the insulation material and the infrared element. Such an arrangement of the present invention increases the emissivity of the IR source below about 1500 wave numbers, more often, below about 1100 wave numbers, and even more particularly, at about 1079 wave numbers. Accordingly, the combined emissivity of the infrared source and the insulation substantially enhances spectral emission and eliminates or reduces spectral artifacts from the formation of oxides on the infrared source surfaces.

Abstract: In a spectrometer, preferably in a spectrometric microscope, light from a specimen is collected at a collector objective element and delivered to a camera element, which in turn provides the light to a photosensitive detector. A focal plane is provided between the collector objective element and the camera element, and one or more aperture arrays may be situated in the focal plane to restrict the detector's field of view of the specimen to the areas within the apertures. By utilizing aperture arrays with apertures of different sizes and shapes, the spatial resolution of the spectrometer readings may be varied without the need to vary the optics of the spectrometer. As a result, if the optics are optimized to minimize vignetting, spatial resolution may be varied without adverse increases in vignetting.