Spectrometer with variable beam power and shape

A method comprising:

• emitting, by at least one light source forming part of a spectrometer, at least one beam into a sample volume comprising an absorbing medium;
• detecting, by at least one detector, at least a portion of the beam emitted by the at least one light source;
• determining, based on the detected at least a portion of the beam and by a controller, that at least one of (i) a power intensity, or (ii) a shape of the beam should be changed;
• and
• selectively changing, by at least one beam modification element under control of the controller, at least one of the (i) power intensity or (ii) shape of the beam emitted by the at least one light source as detected by the at least one detector.

A method comprising:

• causing at least one light source forming part of a spectrometer to emit at least one beam into a sample volume comprising an absorbing medium;
• receiving a signal from at least one detector characterizing detection of at least a portion of the beam emitted by the light source;
• determining, based on the received signal, that at least one of (i) a power intensity, or (ii) as shape of the beam should be changed;
• and
• causing at least one beam modification element to change at least one of (i) the power intensity or (ii) the shape of the beam emitted by the at least one light source as detected by the at least one detector.