Integrated spectroscopic system with cuvette holders and homogenized illumination

A spectroscopic device comprising:

• an illumination chamber having at least one illumination source mounted on a surface thereof, a reference output port and a sample output port, wherein said illumination chamber is configured to homogenize light received from said at least one illumination source and to provide homogenized output light to said reference output port and said sample output port;
• a reference cuvette holder having a top opening configured to receive an empty reference cuvette and being optically coupled to said reference output port;
• a sample cuvette holder having a top opening configured to receive a sample cuvette and being optically coupled to said sample output port, wherein each of said reference cuvette holder and said sample cuvette holder comprises at least one side port configured to receive at least one side illumination source, said at least one side port being provided on a side of said cuvette holders, separate from the respective output ports;
• a reference chamber optically coupled to the reference cuvette holder, and being configured to homogenize light transmitted through said reference cuvette holder and provide a homogenized output light via a reference output slit;
• and
• a sample chamber optically coupled to the sample cuvette holder, and being configured to homogenize light transmitted through said sample cuvette holder and provide a homogenized output light via a sample output slit;
• and
• an inner reflective background surface provided inside each said reference cuvette and said sample cuvette, as a wall of said reference and sample cuvettes, or combinations thereof, wherein said inner reflective background surface is positioned at an angle with respect to said at least one side port so that light from said at least one side illumination source is reflected by said inner reflective background surface into said reference chamber and said sample chamber, respectively.

A spectroscopic system comprising:

• an illumination chamber having at least one illumination source mounted on a surface thereof, a reference output port and a sample output port, wherein said illumination chamber is configured to homogenize light received from said at least one illumination source and to provide homogenized output light to said reference output port and said sample output port;
• a reference cuvette holder configured to receive an empty reference cuvette and being optically coupled to said reference output port;
• a sample cuvette holder configured to receive a sample cuvette and being optically coupled to said sample output port;
• a reference chamber optically coupled to the reference cuvette holder, and being configured to homogenize light transmitted through said reference cuvette holder and provide a homogenized output light via a reference output slit;
• and
• a sample chamber optically coupled to the sample cuvette holder, and being configured to homogenize light transmitted through said sample cuvette holder and provide a homogenized output light via a sample output slit;
• a diffraction grating configured to receive and diffract the homogenized output light exiting the output slits of the reference and sample chambers;
• an imaging capture device configured to capture digital spectral images of the homogenized output light diffracted by said diffraction grating;
• and
• at least one processor;
• and at least one memory storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining from a reference cuvette and from an empty sample cuvette a first set of illumination spectra when illumination energy is provided to said reference and empty sample cuvettes;
• determining intensity differences between the illumination spectrum from said reference cuvette and the illumination spectrum from said empty sample cuvette at each wavelength across an illumination wavelength range;
• obtaining from said reference cuvette and said sample cuvette containing a sample, a second set of spectra wherein the spectrum from the reference cuvette contains only illumination spectral components and the spectrum from said sample cuvette contains both illumination and sample spectral components when illumination energy is provided simultaneously to said reference and sample cuvettes;
• adjusting the intensities of the illumination spectrum from said reference cuvette of the second set of spectra across the wavelength range of the illumination by subtracting or adding the previously determined intensity difference at each corresponding wavelength to the intensities of said illumination spectrum wavelength from said reference cuvette of the second set of spectra to make the illumination intensities from said cuvettes equal across the illumination wavelength range;
• and
• subtracting the said adjusted illumination spectrum of the said second set of spectra from the spectrum from said sample cuvette of the second set of spectra that contains both illumination and sample components, effectively removing the spectral component of illumination energy from a sample spectrum.