Abstract: A detector for detecting vapors emitted from analytes includes a housing, a pump and a sensing assembly. The housing has an inlet, an outlet and an enclosed sensing volume therebetween. The pump communicates with the housing for moving a carrier sequentially through the enclosed sensing volume at a predetermined flow rate. The sensing assembly senses the vapors of the analyte delivered by the carrier as the carrier passes through the housing. The sensing assembly includes a sensing unit constructed of an amplifying fluorescent polymer, a source of excitation, a detector, and a convertor assembly.

Abstract: A tilt compensator and delay element for use in an interferometer. The interferometer can be a scanning or a non-scanning interferometer. For example, the interferometer can be a Michelson-Morley interferometer or a Mach-Zehnder interferometer having a scanning mirror. The tilt compensator and delay element removes the tilt effects of the scanning mirror in two axes. The interferometer receives light and passes the light through a beam splitter. The light passed through the beam splitter is reflected by at least two mirrors. The beam splitter and the mirrors are positioned in a first plane. The tilt compensator and delay element of the present invention is provided with an odd number of mirrors. The odd number of mirrors includes at least three mirrors. For example, the odd number of mirrors in the tilt compensator and delay element can include three mirrors, five mirrors, seven mirrors, nine mirrors, etc.

Abstract: A detector for detecting vapors emitted from analytes includes a housing, a pump and a sensing assembly. The housing has an inlet, an outlet and an enclosed sensing volume therebetween. The pump communicates with the housing for moving a carrier sequentially through the enclosed sensing volume at a predetermined flow rate. The sensing assembly senses the vapors of the analyte delivered by the carrier as the carrier passes through the housing. The sensing assembly includes a sensing unit constructed of an amplifying fluorescent polymer, a source of excitation, a detector, and a convertor assembly.