Two-beam interferometer for Fourier spectroscopy with rigid pendulum
AssigneeKayser-Threde GmbH
InventorPeter Burkert
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Abstract
A two-beam interferometer for Fourier spectroscopy includes a rigid pendulum structure mounting at least one of the movable retroreflectors in a fully compensated optical system immune to tilt and lateral movement distortions. The swing of the rotatably journaled pendulum accurately confines the retroreflector(s) to movement in a single plane during scanning and, due to the low heat generated in the pendulum bearings, the simple and compact structure is well adapted to be housed in a cryostat aboard a spacecraft.
Claims9
A two-beam interferometer for Fourier spectroscopy, particularly for measuring radiation in cryostats aboard spacecraft, including a beam splitter arranged in the path of a source beam, a first reflector, a second movable retroreflector, and a detector system for recording the measured radiation, characterized by:
- (a) rigid pendulum means rotatably mounted to swing in a single plane, and
- (b) means mounting the movable retroreflector to the pendulum means spaced from the center of rotation of the pendulum means as part of a fully compensated optical system which is immune to tilting and transverse movement distortions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.