Raman line scanning probe

Abstract

The invention discloses a Raman line scanning probe. The Raman line scanning probe comprises a receiving end, an optical fiber array and a light condensing mechanism, a flexible optical fiber bundle is connected between the receiving end and the optical fiber array, and the light gathering mechanism is arranged on the side, away from the receiving end, of the optical fiber array. The probe adopts a matrix type optical fiber array which is arranged in two parallel rows, one row is transmitting optical fibers, the other row is receiving optical fibers, and the fiber core diameter of the transmitting optical fibers is smaller than that of the receiving optical fibers. The spectrograph connecting end is designed to be in various forms such as a spectrograph adapter, an optical fiber coupler and a spectrograph interface so as to meet different application requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of optical instruments, and in particular relates to a Raman line scanning probe. Background Art

[0002] Raman spectroscopy is a detection technology based on inelastic scattering of photons, known as "molecular fingerprint" technology. It has the characteristics of high specificity, no label, and non-destructiveness. It can reflect the vibration information of chemical bonds in the sample, and then analyze the type of substances and structural information contained in the sample at the molecular level. In the field of medical diagnosis, component analysis can be achieved through real-time monitoring of sample spectra. It has important value in the early diagnosis of tumor diseases, accurate distinction of the edge of lesion tissue, and other fields, and has broad application prospects in the biomedical field.

[0003] Optical probe Raman detectors have the characteristics of small size, easy operation, and precise detection area. Therefore, with the deepening of research, various optical probe designs have also emerged. For example, Chinese patent CN115420382B discloses a Raman probe, which is an optical probe that pursues a high signal-to-noise ratio for in-body point scanning. Its main feature is its slender size and can be inserted deep into the body through a medical laparoscope to achieve in-body detection.

[0004] With the extensive development of research, some detection needs in different scenarios have also emerged, such as high-efficiency and high-resolution scanning of large-area samples. The currently commonly used point scanning probe is used to detect a point with a diameter less than 1 mm, so the area is small. When used for large-area samples or objects to be detected, the rate is low. Because it has only one point, it cannot be subdivided, which is equivalent to a resolution of only one point, and is proportional to the outer diameter of the light spot, resulting in low resolution. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention discloses a Raman line scanning probe, including a receiving end, an optical fiber array and a focusing mechanism. A flexible optical fiber bundle is connected between the receiving end and the optical fiber array, and the focusing mechanism is arranged on the side of the optical fiber array away from the receiving end. The probe adopts a matrix optical fiber array, which is arranged in two rows in parallel, one row of which is a transmitting optical fiber and the other row is a receiving optical fiber, and the core diameter of the transmitting optical fiber is smaller than that of the receiving optical fiber. The spectrometer connection end is designed in various forms such as a spectrometer adapter, an optical fiber coupler and a spectrometer interface to meet different application requirements.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A Raman line scanning probe comprises a receiving end, an optical fiber array and a focusing mechanism. A flexible optical fiber bundle is connected between the receiving end and the optical fiber array. The focusing mechanism is arranged on a side of the optical fiber array away from the receiving end. The receiving end comprises a spectrometer connecting end and a laser receiving end.

[0007] As an improvement of the present invention, the optical fiber array is any one of a matrix array, an arc array, and a circular array, and the optical fiber array includes a receiving optical fiber and a transmitting optical fiber.

[0008] As an improvement of the present invention, the receiving optical fibers and the transmitting optical fibers are arranged in multiple rows in parallel or alternately.

[0009] As an improvement of the present invention, the receiving optical fibers and the transmitting optical fibers are arranged in two parallel rows, one row of which is the receiving optical fibers and the other row is the transmitting optical fibers, and the core of the transmitting optical fibers is smaller than that of the receiving optical fibers.

[0010] As an improvement of the present invention, the number of the receiving optical fibers and the transmitting optical fibers is 32 each, and each upper and lower corresponding receiving optical fiber and transmitting optical fiber form a group of optical fibers.

[0011] As an improvement of the present invention, the spectrometer connection end is any one of a spectrometer adapter, a fiber optic coupler and a spectrometer interface.

[0012] As an improvement of the present invention, the focusing mechanism is any one of a prism, a ball lens, and a spherical lens.

[0013] As an improvement of the present invention, the focusing mechanism is a prism, and the upper and lower surfaces of the prism are provided with filter films. The filter film on the upper surface of the prism is a bandpass filter film, and the filter film on the lower surface of the prism is a longpass filter film. The bandpass filter film allows light with a wavelength of 782~788nm to pass through, and the longpass filter film allows light with a wavelength of 810~1300nm to pass through.

[0014] As an improvement of the present invention, a filter is further provided between the light focusing mechanism and the optical fiber array.

[0015] As an improvement of the present invention, a filter film is plated on the end surface of the optical fiber array close to the focusing mechanism.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: (1) The present invention solves the shortcoming of slow point scanning efficiency. The Raman line scanning probe overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art in many aspects, especially showing significant advantages when processing large-area samples. Through the design of the optical fiber array, the present application can process multiple light points at the same time and achieve fast scanning. Compared with the traditional point scanning method, it can complete the spectral analysis of large-area samples in a short time.

[0017] (2) Compared with point scanning, the present invention improves the resolution. Through one-to-one optical fiber arrangement and optimized focusing structure, the probe can achieve higher resolution, making the capture of Raman signals more accurate and more conducive to finely distinguishing the boundaries of diseased tissues. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the Raman line scan probe.

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Cross-sectional view at point A.

[0020] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the optical fiber array and focusing mechanism structure.

[0021] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the optical fiber array and focusing mechanism.

[0022] List of Figure Symbols: 1. Spectrometer adapter; 2. Flexible fiber bundle; 3. Laser receiving end; 4. Universal interface; 5. Two-in-one middleware; 6. Fiber array; 7. Receiving fiber; 8. Transmitting fiber; 9. Focusing mechanism; 10. Bandpass filter; 11. Longpass filter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The present invention will be further explained below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the following specific embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0024] As shown in the figure, the present invention provides a Raman line scanning probe, including a receiving end, an optical fiber array 6, and a focusing mechanism 9. A flexible optical fiber bundle 2 is connected between the receiving end and the optical fiber array 6. The focusing mechanism 9 is arranged on the side of the optical fiber array 6 away from the receiving end. The receiving end includes a spectrometer connecting end and a laser receiving end 3. A two-in-one middleware 5 is also connected between the spectrometer connecting end and the laser receiving end 3 and the optical fiber array 6. The laser receiving end 3 is a universal interface 4 that can be connected to a laser.

[0025] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical fiber array 6 is any one of a matrix array, an arc array, and a circular array, and the optical fiber array 6 includes a receiving optical fiber 7 and a transmitting optical fiber 8.

[0026] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the receiving optical fiber 7 and the transmitting optical fiber 8 are arranged in multiple rows in parallel or alternately, for example, a three-row parallel optical fiber array 6 structure is selected to form a sandwich optical fiber structure.

[0027] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 2As shown, the receiving optical fiber 7 and the transmitting optical fiber 8 are arranged in two parallel rows, one row is the receiving optical fiber 7, and the other row is the transmitting optical fiber 8. The core of the transmitting optical fiber 8 is smaller than the receiving optical fiber 7. The transmitting optical fiber 8 is thinner and the light output is more concentrated; the receiving optical fiber 7 is thicker to ensure as much light as possible; preferably, the core diameter of the transmitting optical fiber 8 is 50um, and the core diameter of the receiving optical fiber 7 is 200um.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of receiving optical fibers 7 and transmitting optical fibers 8 is 32 each, and each corresponding receiving optical fiber 7 and transmitting optical fiber 8 is a group of optical fibers. The number of receiving optical fibers 7 and transmitting optical fibers 8 can also be selected according to actual conditions to adjust the width of the probe.

[0029] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spectrometer connection end is any one of a spectrometer adapter 1, a fiber coupler and a spectrometer interface. The optical fibers inside the spectrometer adapter 1 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence order so that the optical signals are injected into the slits in a specified order, which is convenient for analysis one by one, and 32 points can be detected at the same time.

[0030] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the focusing mechanism 9 is any one of a prism, a ball lens, and a spherical lens. It can also be combined with a plurality of concave and convex lenses to achieve functions such as focusing and filtering.

[0031] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the outer shell, fixing bracket and other structural parts are omitted in the figure. The focusing mechanism 9 is a prism, and filter films are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the prism. The filter film on the upper surface of the prism is a bandpass filter film 10 (corresponding to the transmitting optical fiber 8), which ensures the purity of the emitted laser band to minimize interference; the filter film on the lower surface of the prism is a long-pass filter film 11 (corresponding to the receiving optical fiber 7), which filters out the laser that accounts for a large proportion of the reflected light and retains the Raman scattered light; the bandpass filter film 10 allows light with a wavelength of 782~788nm to pass through, and the long-pass filter film 11 allows light with a wavelength of 810~1300nm to pass through.

[0032] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a filter is further provided between the light focusing mechanism 9 and the optical fiber array 6 .

[0033] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a filter film is coated on the end surface of the optical fiber array 6 close to the focusing mechanism 9.

[0034] The detection principle of a Raman line scanning probe of the present invention is as follows: the laser emitted by the laser passes through a collimator and then enters the laser receiving end of the present invention. The laser passing through the collimator will be approximately evenly distributed, so each transmitting optical fiber 8 will obtain lasers with approximately the same energy. The laser is emitted from the front end, and after filtering, the relatively pure 785nm laser is focused and then shot onto the sample. Most of the light is elastically scattered, and a very small amount of light is inelastically scattered, that is, Raman scattering, and its wavelength will be red-blue shifted.

[0035] After the light passes through the condenser, the elastically scattered light is still near 785nm because its wavelength remains unchanged, and is blocked by the long-pass filter 11, while the Raman scattered light passes through the filter into the receiving optical fiber 7 and enters the spectrometer through the adapter. Here, the optical fiber on the spectrometer adapter 1 and the receiving optical fiber 7 at the front end are arranged in sequence one by one, and can be shot into the slit of the spectrometer from top to bottom, thereby realizing relatively independent spectral analysis.

[0036] Since the wavelength of elastically scattered light does not change, while the wavelength of inelastic light (Raman light) undergoes a red-blue shift, it is only necessary to subtract the spectra at two moments before and after the scan is turned on (the laser is turned on) to obtain a relatively pure Raman frequency shift spectrum. Based on the size and peak height of the Raman frequency shift, the composition of the scanned object can be determined.

[0037] It should be noted that the drawings only illustrate the technical ideas of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention cannot be limited by this shape. For ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications all fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A Raman line scanning probe, comprising a receiving end, an optical fiber array, and a focusing mechanism, characterized in that: A flexible optical fiber bundle is connected between the receiving end and the optical fiber array. The focusing mechanism is arranged on a side of the optical fiber array away from the receiving end. The receiving end includes a spectrometer connecting end and a laser receiving end.

2. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical fiber array is any one of a matrix array, an arc array, and a circular array, and the optical fiber array includes a receiving optical fiber and a transmitting optical fiber.

3. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 2, characterized in that: The receiving optical fibers and the transmitting optical fibers are arranged in multiple rows in parallel or alternately.

4. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 3, characterized in that: The receiving optical fibers and the transmitting optical fibers are arranged in two parallel rows, one row is the receiving optical fibers and the other row is the transmitting optical fibers, and the core of the transmitting optical fibers is smaller than that of the receiving optical fibers.

5. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 4, characterized in that: The number of the receiving optical fibers and the number of the transmitting optical fibers are 32 each, and each upper and lower corresponding receiving optical fiber and transmitting optical fiber form a group of optical fibers.

6. The Raman line scan probe according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The spectrometer connection end is any one of a spectrometer adapter, a fiber optic coupler and a spectrometer interface.

7. The Raman line scan probe according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The focusing mechanism is any one of a prism, a ball lens, and a spherical lens.

8. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 7, characterized in that: The focusing mechanism is a prism, and filter films are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the prism. The filter film on the upper surface of the prism is a bandpass filter film, and the filter film on the lower surface of the prism is a longpass filter film. The bandpass filter film allows light with a wavelength of 782~788nm to pass through, and the longpass filter film allows light with a wavelength of 810~1300nm to pass through.

9. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 7, characterized in that: A filter is also arranged between the light focusing mechanism and the optical fiber array.

10. The Raman line scan probe according to claim 7, characterized in that: The end surface of the optical fiber array close to the light focusing mechanism is plated with a filter film.

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