Method and apparatus for automated spectral calibration

A system for simultaneous calibration and dispersive and/or spectral imaging of a sample comprising:

• an input for simultaneously receiving a first plurality of photons collected from the sample and a second plurality of photons collected from an intrinsic calibrant, wherein said first plurality of photons and said second plurality of photons originate from the same source;
• a spectrometer for forming a sample spectrum from the first plurality of photons and a calibrant spectrum from the second plurality of photons;
• a first processor for comparing the calibrant spectrum with a reference spectrum of the calibrant to determine a wavelength-shift in the calibrant spectrum;
• and a second processor for applying the wavelength-shift to the sample spectrum to obtain a calibrated sample spectrum.

An apparatus for simultaneous calibration and dispersive and/or spectral image acquisition of a sample, comprising:

• a processing circuit for simultaneously receiving a calibrant spectrum and a sample spectrum wherein the calibrant is an intrinsic calibrant and further wherein said calibrant spectrum and said sample spectrum are formed using photons from a single source;
• and a memory in communication with the processing circuit, the memory storing instructions for the processing circuit to:
• process the calibrant spectrum to locate and identify a plurality of peaks, compare the plurality of peak locations in the calibrant spectrum with a plurality of corresponding peak locations in a reference spectrum of the calibrant, and determine a wavelength-shift as a function of a comparison between at least one peak location in the calibrant spectrum and a corresponding peak location in the reference spectrum;
• and calibrate the sample spectrum by applying the wavelength-shift to the sample spectrum.

A method for simultaneous calibration and imaging of a sample in a spectrometer, the method comprising:

• simultaneously illuminating the sample and an intrinsic calibrant with a plurality of illuminating photons from a single source;
• receiving, at a spectrometer, a first plurality of photons collected from the sample and a second plurality of photons collected from the intrinsic calibrant;
• forming a sample spectrum from the first plurality of photons and an intrinsic calibrant spectrum from the second plurality of photons;
• comparing the intrinsic calibrant spectrum with a reference spectrum for said intrinsic calibrant to determine a wavelength-shift in the calibrant spectrum;
• applying the wavelength-shift to the sample spectrum to obtain a calibrated sample spectrum.