Optical instrument including excitation source
AssigneeApplied Biosystems, LLC
InventorsSteven J. Boege, Howard G. King, Eugene F. Young, Johannes P. Sluis, Mark F. Oldham
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Abstract
An optical instrument is provided for simultaneously illuminating two or more spaced-apart reaction regions with excitation beams generated by a light source. The light source can include an area light array of light emitting diodes, one or more solid state lasers, one or more micro-wire lasers, or a combination thereof. According to various embodiments, a Fresnel lens can be disposed along a beam bath between the light source and the reaction regions. Methods of analysis using the optical instrument are also provided.
Claims20
A method of illuminating a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions with excitation beams, the method comprising:
- providing a light emitting diode source comprising a first plurality of light sources of a first excitation beam wavelength, the first plurality of light sources homogeneously distributed throughout a two dimensional array;
- generating light excitation beams with the light emitting diode source such that more than one light emitting diode illuminates each spaced-apart region;
- reflecting the light excitation beams off of a beam splitter;
- generating emission beams in at least two of the plurality of spaced-apart regions;
- and
- passing the emission beams through a first focusing lens and the beam splitter to a detector.
A method of illuminating a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions with excitation beams, the method comprising:
- providing a light emitting diode source comprising a first plurality of light sources distributed throughout a two dimensional array and a second plurality of light sources distributed throughout a two dimensional array, the first plurality of light sources having a first excitation beam wavelength and the second plurality of light sources having a second excitation beam wavelength that is different from the first excitation beam wavelength;
- generating light excitation beams with the light emitting diode source such that more than one light emitting diode illuminates each spaced-apart region;
- thermally cycling the contents of the plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions;
- reflecting the light excitation beams off of a beam splitter;
- generating emission beams in at least two of the plurality of spaced-apart regions;
- and
- passing the emission beams through a first focusing lens and the beam splitter to a detector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.