Spectrometer with combined visible and ultraviolet sample illumination

An optical instrument comprising a spectrometer including a housing defining an integral enclosed air space, a fixed grating within said housing in said air space, an array of photodetectors positioned in said housing in said air space to receive light disbursed by said grating, a plurality of amplifiers mounted in said housing in said air space and severally connected to said photodetectors to amplify the output signals of said photodetectors.

An optical instrument comprising a spectrometer including a fixed grating and an array of photodetectors to detect the light dispersed by said grating, a standard sample having known optical properties, means to periodically cause light emanating from said standard sample to be directed onto said grating, and means to determine whether the ratio of the output signal of a first one of said photodetectors to the output signal from a second one of said photodetectors has changed by a predetermined amount when said grating is receiving light emanating from said standard sample and if said ratio has changed by said predetermined amount to calculate a calibration factor for each of said photodetectors from the output signal produced by such photodetector when said grating is receiving light emanating from said standard sample.

A method of manufacturing a spectrometer having a housing, a fixed grating mounted in said housing and a fixed array of photodetectors mounted in said housing to receive light dispersed by said grating comprising the steps of mounting said array of photodetectors to be slideably movable in a linear direction within said housing to adjust the bandwidth of dispersed light received by each photodetector, extending a screw into said housing to abut against the means mounting said photodetector, adjusting the position of said photodetectors by rotating said screw to advance or retract said micrometer screw while maintaining said means mounting said photodetectors abutted against the end of said micrometer screw, thereafter potting said means mounting said photodetectors to be permanently fixed relative to said housing.

In an optical instrument for analyzing test samples including at least one photodetector, a housing containing said photodetector, means to direct light from a test sample to said photodetector, positioning means selectively operable to direct light from a standard sample to said photodetector, and means to compute a calibration factor for calibrating the output signal from said photodetector in response to the output signal of the said photodetector when said photodetector is receiving light from said standard sample, the improvement comprising:

• means to detect a predetermined change in the temperature within said housing and to operate said positioning means to direct light from said standard sample onto said photodetector whenever said predetermined change in temperature occurs, said means to compute said calibration factor operating to compute said factor each time said predetermined change in temperature occurs.

An optical instrument comprising a source of light, a probe housing defining an opening with means to receive a test sample over said opening, means to transmit light from said source toward said opening from within said probe to irradiate a sample positioned over said opening, a standard sample normally positioned to block said opening and be irradiated by light from said source directed toward said opening from within said probe housing, and control means selectively operable to automatically move said standard sample to unblock said opening, then measure the light emanating from a sample positioned over said opening as a result of such sample being irradiated by light from said source and then to move the said standard sample back into position to block said opening, said control means being operable to measure the light emanating from said standard sample as a result of said standard sample being irradiated by light from said source.