US 12,493,181 B2Granted

Optical spectroscopy probe configurations for focusing light to a portion of a sample

AssigneeBruker AG

InventorsBradford B. Behr, Shamus Driver

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Sample optic assemblies are described that may have at least one optical element that is positioned and has one or more surfaces shaped to focus separate sections of a collimated excitation light beam to: (a) create at least one focal point or at least one focal line at one or more portions of a surface or an interior of a sample while compensating for optical aberrations that are created by an optical window or a transparent container that is adjacent the sample to reduce the size of and/or sharpen the at least one focal spot or the at least one focal line; (b) to create a plurality of focal spots, an array of discrete focal spots, at least one focal line, or at least one focal circle, at one or more portions of a surface or an interior of the sample or (c) to achieve (a) and (b).

Claims20

Dependent claims

A sample optic assembly for an optical spectroscopy probe for use in compensating for spherical aberrations and/or chromatic aberrations in obtaining optical measurements of a sample that is behind an optical window or within a transparent container where the optical window and the transparent container are physically separate from the sample optic assembly and have the spherical aberrations and/or the chromatic aberrations, wherein the sample optic assembly comprises:

at least one optical element that is positioned for receiving a substantially collimated excitation light beam and directing light rays towards the sample, the at least one optical element being positioned and having one or more surfaces that are shaped to:
project the light rays through the optical window or the transparent container to focus the light rays into at least one focal spot, at least one focal circle, or at least one focal line which are at one or more portions of a surface or an interior of the sample;
collect resulting scattered light from the sample;
and
counteract the spherical aberrations and/or the chromatic aberrations that are created by the optical window or the transparent container to reduce the size of and/or sharpen the at least one focal spot, the at least one focal circle, or the at least one focal line,
wherein, the collected resulting scattered light is used by an optical spectroscopy analysis system to measure spectroscopic information about the one or more portions of the sample.

3 more elements

A sample optic assembly for an optical spectroscopy probe, wherein the sample optic assembly comprises:

at least one optical element that:
(a) is positioned to receive a substantially collimated excitation light beam from a probe head and transmit a plurality of collimated collection light beams to the probe head and (b) has a plurality of optical surfaces that are positioned and shaped to:
receive the substantially collimated excitation light beam having a plurality of light rays;
project and focus the light rays towards a sample to create a plurality of focal spots, an array of discrete focal spots, a plurality of focal lines, or at least one focal circle, at one or more portions of a surface or an interior of the sample;
and
collect and combine resulting scattered light from the sample into the plurality of collimated collection light beams which are received by the probe head and focused into a single collection fiber,
wherein, the collected resulting scattered light is provided to an optical spectroscopy analysis system to measure spectroscopic information about the one or more portions of the sample.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/180,302Filed 19 Feb 2021 · us provisional application
Priority: 21 Feb 2020
Published: US 2021/0263306 A126 Aug 2021
Granted: 9 Dec 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

G02B 3/06
With non-spherical faces: with cylindrical or toric faces
G02B 27/0025
Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00: for optical correction, e.g. distorsion,…
G01J 3/0208
Optical elements not provided otherwise, e.g. optical manifolds, diffusers, windows: using focussing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or…
G01J 3/44
Investigating the spectrum: raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry ; Fluorescence spectrometry