Spectrometer using a pump light source and fluorescence emission

Abstract

A spectrometer device (110) and a method for acquiring spectral information relating to at least one object (112) are disclosed. The spectrometer device (110) includes: i. At least one light source (114) that generates illumination light (116) for illuminating an object (112), comprising at least one light-emitting diode (118) and at least one light-emitting material (120) for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode (118) into secondary light, wherein the illumination light (116) comprises at least partially the primary light and the secondary light; ii. At least one broadband detector (128) for detecting detection light (130) from an object (112) in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light, wherein the broadband detector (128) is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light (130) in the spectral range of primary light, and further configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light (130) in the spectral range of secondary light, iii. At least one evaluation unit (136) for evaluating a primary detector signal and a secondary detector signal generated by a broadband detector (128), the evaluation unit (136) for determining temperature information (137) of a light source (114) from either the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal, and for deriving spectral information of an object (112) from the other of the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information (137) of the light source (114).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a spectrometer apparatus and a method for acquiring spectral information relating to at least one object. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer program for performing the method and a computer-readable storage medium. Such apparatus and method can generally be used for survey or monitoring purposes, particularly in the infrared (IR) spectral region, especially the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region, and the visible (VIS) spectral region, for example, a spectral region that can mimic human color vision ability. However, further applications are also possible. [Background technology]

[0002] Spectrometers are known as efficient tools for obtaining information about the spectral properties of an object (subject) when it emits, irradiates, reflects, and / or absorbs light. Therefore, spectrometers can assist in sample analysis and other tasks where information about the spectral properties of an object is crucial.

[0003] Typically, in a spectrometer, spectral information is acquired via one or more detectors and one or more wavelength-selective optical elements (e.g., one or more dispersive optical elements, filters such as bandpass filters, prisms, diffraction gratings, interferometers, etc.). Detectors can consist of any type of photosensitive element, such as single or multiple pixel detectors, line detectors, or array detectors having one-dimensional or two-dimensional pixel arrays. Furthermore, a spectrometer may include one or more light sources. Therefore, spectroscopy typically uses tunable light sources such as lasers, and / or broadband light sources such as halogen-filled lamps or high-temperature filaments. However, additionally or alternatively, other light sources such as light-emitting diodes have been proposed for the visible and near-infrared spectral regions.

[0004] As an example, Patent Document 1 (US 2010 / 208261 A1) describes an apparatus for determining at least one optical property of a sample. This apparatus includes a variable excitation light source for irradiating the sample with excitation light. Furthermore, it includes a detector for detecting detection light emitted from the sample. The excitation light source includes a light-emitting diode array, at least a portion of which is configured as a monolithic light-emitting diode array. This monolithic light-emitting diode array includes at least three light-emitting diodes, each having a different emission spectrum.

[0005] Patent document 2 (U.S. No. 8,164,050 B2) describes a multi-channel light source assembly for underground spectroscopy. This assembly has individual light sources that generate optical signals at wavelengths across a spectral range. A coupling assembly optically combines the generated signals into a composite signal, and a routing assembly splits the composite signal into a reference channel and a measurement channel. A control circuit electrically connected to the light sources modulates each light source at its own or independent frequency during operation.

[0006] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 (US 7,061,618 B2) describes an integrated spectroscopic system, and in some examples, an integrated variable detector using one or more Fabry-Perot variable filters is provided. In other examples, an integrated variable light source is used, which is a combination of one or more diodes (such as superluminescent light-emitting diodes (SLEDs)) and a Fabry-Perot variable filter or etalon.

[0007] Furthermore, Patent Document 4 (U.S. Patent No. 5,475,221A) describes an optical device that uses a light-emitting diode array controlled by a multiplexing method as an alternative to conventional broadband light sources in devices such as spectrometers.

[0008] Furthermore, Patent Document 5 (US 2021 / 293620 A1) discloses a spectrometer comprising the following components: an illumination device for illuminating a spectroscopic measurement area; a detection unit for detecting electromagnetic radiation coming from the spectroscopic measurement area; and a spectroscopic element positioned in the optical path between the illumination device and the detection unit. The illumination device includes: a light-emitting diode designed to emit a first electromagnetic radiation having a first center wavelength and a first spectrum; and a light-emitting element that converts a first component of the first electromagnetic radiation having a first spectrum into a second electromagnetic radiation having a second spectrum. The first center wavelength is 550 nm or 3000 nm, or between 550 nm and 3000 nm. The first spectrum and the second spectrum overlap.

[0009] Furthermore, Patent Document 6 (US 2013 / 093936 A1) discloses an energy dispersion device, spectrometer, and method that can evaluate the composition of a substance in the field without requiring specialized training or expensive equipment. This energy dispersion device or spectrometer can be used in conjunction with a digital camera or mobile phone. The device of the present invention comprises a stack of single or double dispersion diffraction gratings, which are rotated around the normal direction to generate multiple diffraction orders that enable meaningful measurements and determinations regarding the qualitative or quantitative properties of the substance.

[0010] Furthermore, Patent Document 7 (WO 2021 / 058260 A1) discloses a spectrometer apparatus and a calibration method thereof. Calibration elements (having one or more known extinction curves) are placed in the optical path between the light source and the photodetector of the spectrometer apparatus. By determining the settings of the spectral elements corresponding to the extinction curves of the calibration elements, a precise correlation between the control of the spectral elements and the corresponding wavelengths can be generated.

[0011] Furthermore, Patent Document 8 (EP 3 961 826 A1) discloses a light irradiation device, which includes a light source configured to emit primary light, a first phosphor that absorbs the primary light and converts it into first-wavelength converted light having a longer wavelength than the primary light, and a second phosphor that absorbs the primary light and converts it into second-wavelength converted light having a longer wavelength than the primary light. The first-wavelength converted light is fluorescence having light components across the entire wavelength range from 700 nm to 800 nm. The second-wavelength converted light is fluorescence in which the wavelength range where the fluorescence intensity shows its maximum value is from 380 nm to less than 700 nm. The first-wavelength converted light has an afterglow time that is 1 / 10 longer than that of the second-wavelength converted light.

[0012] Despite the advantages achieved by known methods and apparatus, several technical challenges remain in the field of spectroscopy and spectroscopic instruments, particularly in the near-infrared region. Spectrometer systems with light sources combining LEDs and phosphor-emitting coatings may experience reduced conversion efficiency in certain wavelength ranges, such as the infrared range, resulting in a significant amount of light leaking outside the intended target wavelength range. Consequently, since no spectral information can be obtained from these wavelengths, the optical power in this wavelength range is generally wasted. Furthermore, in contrast to industrial applications where dedicated hardware can be invested in specific measurement setups, consumer spectroscopy is required to cover a wide range of applications, especially to find appeal in the mass market. Many of these applications may require the investigation of spatially (three-dimensionally) heterogeneous materials, which generally have different optical properties (e.g., different transmission depths in different wavelength ranges). It is often necessary to obtain spectral information (also called spatial distribution) in the depth direction of such samples.

[0013] However, in the field of consumer spectroscopy, compact integrated spectrometer devices such as those integrated into wearable devices can present technical challenges due to the fact that they can only provide limited resources (e.g., a single emitter and detector type) to cover the desired range of applications. Solutions that utilize a single, specifically defined emission spectrum for a particular use are known, such as using a single-chip white LED that specifically includes a complementary color mix of a blue pump and a yellow fluorescence spectrum from a phosphor to generate white light. These systems may not be able to accommodate multiple spectroscopic applications.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0014]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Patent Document 7

Patent Document 8

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0015] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and an apparatus that at least partially solve the above technical problems and at least substantially avoid the drawbacks of known methods and apparatuses. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a spectrometer apparatus capable of corresponding to spectroscopic applications in the consumer spectroscopy field and a method for obtaining spectroscopic information regarding at least one object.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0016] This problem is addressed by a spectrometer apparatus for obtaining spectroscopic information regarding at least one object, a method for obtaining spectroscopic information regarding at least one object, and a computer program and a computer-readable storage medium for performing this by a method having the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments realizable alone or in any combination are described in the dependent claims and throughout the specification.

[0017] In a first aspect of the present invention, a spectrometer apparatus for obtaining spectroscopic information regarding at least one object is disclosed.

[0018] As used herein, the term “spectrometer” is a broad term, given in the sense that a person skilled in the art would ordinarily understand, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, it may refer to, but is not limited to, an optical device configured to acquire at least one item of spectral information relating to at least one object. In particular, at least one item of spectral information may represent at least one optical property or optically measurable property determined as a function of wavelength at one or more different wavelengths. More specifically, the optical property or optically measurable property, and the at least one item of spectral information, may relate to at least one property characterizing at least one of transmission, absorption, reflection, or emission of the at least one object itself, or after external light irradiation. The at least one optical property may be determined for one or more wavelengths. The spectrometer may particularly form a device capable of recording signal intensity relating to wavelengths corresponding to a spectrum or its divisions (e.g., wavelength intervals), where the signal intensity may be provided in particular as an electrical signal usable for further evaluation.

[0019] The spectrometer apparatus may be, or may include, an apparatus capable of measuring, for example, at least one spectrum (e.g., for measuring spectral flux), particularly as a function of wavelength or detection wavelength. The spectrum may be acquired, for example, in absolute units or relative units (e.g., in relation to at least one reference measurement). Thus, for example, the acquisition of at least one spectrum may be performed, in particular, for measuring spectral flux (unit: W / nm) or for measuring the spectrum of at least one reference material (unit: 1), which may describe the properties of the material, such as reflectance with respect to wavelength. Additionally or alternatively, the reference measurement may be based on a reference light source, an optical reference path, a calculated reference signal (e.g., a calculated reference signal from the literature), and / or a reference apparatus.

[0020] Specifically, at least one spectrometer device may be a diffuse reflectance spectrometer configured to acquire spectral information from light diffusely reflected by at least one object (e.g., at least one sample). Additionally or alternatively, at least one spectrometer device may be an absorption spectrometer and / or a transmission spectrometer, or may include both. In particular, spectral measurements by the spectrometer device may include measurements of absorption in a transmission configuration. Specifically, the spectrometer device may be configured to measure absorption in a transmission configuration. However, as described above, other types of spectrometer devices are also feasible.

[0021] At least one spectrometer device may include, specifically and as outlined in more detail below, at least one light source, for example, at least one of at least one tunable light source, at least one light source having a fixed emission wavelength, and a broadband light source. The spectrometer device further comprises at least one detector device, as outlined in more detail below, the detector device is configured to detect light such as light transmitted, reflected, or emitted from at least one object. The spectrometer device may include at least one wavelength-selective element, for example, at least one diffraction grating, prism, or filter, for example, a length-variable filter whose transmission characteristics change over its lateral extension, as will be outlined in more detail below. The wavelength-selective element may be used to separate the incident light into the spectrum of wavelength signals, and the intensity of each signal can be determined using a detector, such as a detector with a detector array, as will be outlined below.

[0022] In particular, the spectrometer may be a portable spectrometer. The term “portable” as used herein is broad and given the ordinary meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may, but is not limited to, the characteristic that at least one object is movable by human power by a single user. Specifically, an object characterized by the term “portable” may have a mass not exceeding 10 kg, specifically not exceeding 5 kg, more specifically not exceeding 1 kg, or not exceeding 500 g. Additionally or alternatively, the dimensions of an object characterized by the term “portable” may not exceed 0.3 m in any dimension, specifically not exceeding 0.2 m in any dimension. Specifically, the volume of the object may be 0.03 m³. 3 Specifically, 0.01m 3 More specifically, 0.001m 3 below 、 Or 500mm 3 The following may apply. For example, the dimensions of a portable spectrometer may be, for instance, 10 mm x 10 mm x 5 mm. Specifically, the portable spectrometer may be part of a mobile device or be attachable to a mobile device such as a notebook computer, tablet, smartphone, smartwatch, and / or a wearable computer (e.g., a body-worn computer such as a wristband or watch). In particular, the weight of the spectrometer, and specifically the portable spectrometer, may be in the range of 1 g to 100 g, more specifically, in the range of 1 g to 10 g.

[0023] The term “spectral information” (also referred to as “spectral information” or “item of spectral information” as used in this specification) is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may represent, but is not limited to, specific information items, e.g., information relating to at least one object and / or radiation emitted from at least one object, information characterizing at least one optical property of said object, or more specifically, at least one information item characterizing (e.g., modifying and / or quantifying) at least one of the transmission, absorption, reflection, and emission of said at least one object. For example, at least one spectral information item may include at least one intensity information, e.g., information relating to the intensity of light transmitted, absorbed, reflected, or emitted by an object, for example, as a function of one or more wavelengths, e.g., wavelength or wavelength sub-range over a wavelength range. Specifically, the intensity information may correspond to, or be derived from, signal intensities, particularly electrical signals, recorded by a spectrometer with respect to the wavelength or wavelength range of the spectrum.

[0024] The spectrometer may be configured to acquire at least one spectrum, or a portion of a spectrum, of the detected light propagating from the object to the spectrometer. The spectrum may describe, for example, the spectral flux, which is a radiometric unit given in units of watts per nanometer (W / nm), or other units as a wavelength function of the detected light. Thus, the spectrum may describe, for example, the optical power of the light in a specific wavelength band in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region. The spectrum may include one or more optical variables as a function of wavelength (e.g., power spectral density, electrical signals derived from optical measurements, etc.). The spectrum may, for example, show the power spectral density and / or spectral flux of the object (e.g., a sample) (e.g., the transmittance and / or reflectance of the object, especially the sample, as a relative value to a reference sample).

[0025] The spectrum may include, for example, at least one measurable optical variable or characteristic of the detected light and / or object (particularly as a function of the illumination light and / or detected light). For example, at least one measurable optical variable or characteristic may encompass at least one radiometric quantity, for example, at least one of the following: spectral density, power spectral density, spectral flux, radiant flux, radiant intensity, spectral radiant intensity, illuminance, spectral illuminance. Specifically, as an example, a spectrometer, particularly a detector, may have watts per square meter (W / m²). 2 Irradiance in units of watts per square meter per nanometer (W / m²). More specifically, watts per square meter per nanometer. 2 The spectral irradiance can be measured in units of ( / nm). Based on the measured values, the spectral flux (W / nm) and / or radiant flux (W) can be calculated (e.g., calculation).

[0026] As used herein, the term “subject matter” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may, but is not limited to, any object selected from living and non-living objects. Thus, as an example, at least one subject matter may include one or more articles and / or one or more parts of articles, where at least one subject matter or at least one part thereof may include at least one component capable of providing a spectrum suitable for investigation. Additionally or alternatively, the subject matter may be, or include, one or more living organisms and / or one or more parts thereof, for example, one or more body parts of humans (e.g., users) and / or animals. The subject matter may, in particular, include one or more samples that can be analyzed completely or partially by spectroscopy. As an example, the subject matter may be, or include, one or more of the following: human or animal skin; food such as fruit; plastics and textile products. The spectrometer equipment includes the following: i. At least one light source for generating illumination light for illuminating an object, comprising at least one light-emitting diode and at least one light-emitting material for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode into secondary light, wherein the illumination light comprises at least partially primary light and secondary light; ii. At least one broadband detector for detecting detection light from an object in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light, wherein the broadband detector is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of primary light, and further configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of secondary light; and iii. At least one evaluation unit for evaluating the primary and secondary detector signals generated by a broadband detector, determining the temperature information of a light source from either the primary or secondary detector signal, and deriving the spectral information of an object from the other of the primary or secondary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information of the light source.

[0027] As used herein, the term “light” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or limited meaning. Specifically, the term may, without limitation, refer to one or more electromagnetic radiation from the infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet spectral regions. Here, “ultraviolet spectral region” generally refers to electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths from 1 nm to 380 nm, preferably from 100 nm to 380 nm. Furthermore, in part in accordance with the standard ISO-21348 in effect as of the date of this specification, the term “visible spectral range” generally refers to the spectral range from 380 nm to 760 nm. The term “infrared spectral range” (IR) generally refers to electromagnetic radiation from 760 nm to 1000 μm, of which the range from 760 nm to 1.5 μm is usually referred to as the “near-infrared spectral range” (NIR), the range from 1.5 μm to 15 μm as the “mid-infrared spectral range” (MidIR), and the range from 15 μm to 1000 μm as the “far-infrared spectral range” (FIR). The light used for typical purposes of the present invention is preferably light in the infrared (IR) spectral range, more preferably light in the near-infrared (NIR) and / or mid-infrared spectral range (MidIR), particularly light with wavelengths of 1 μm to 5 μm, preferably 1 μm to 3 μm. This is because many material properties and chemical compositional properties of objects can be derived from the near-infrared spectral region. However, it should be noted that spectroscopy in other spectral regions is also possible and falls within the scope of the present invention.

[0028] As used herein, the term “light source” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. In particular, the term may, but is not limited to, any device that generates or provides light in the sense defined above. The light source may, specifically, be an electric light source, such as an electrically driven light source, or may include at least one electric light source. The light source may be located within the housing of the spectrometer apparatus as part of the spectrometer apparatus. Alternatively, at least one light source may be located outside the housing, for example, as a separate light source. The light source may be located away from the object and illuminate the object remotely.

[0029] In spectroscopy, it is necessary to distinguish between various sources and paths of light. In the context of this invention, first, the light propagating from the light source to the object is referred to as "illuminating light" or "illumination light." Next, the light propagating from the object to the detector is referred to as "detection light." Detection light can include at least one of the following: illumination light reflected by the object, illumination light scattered by the object, illumination light transmitted by the object, or emitted light generated by the object (for example, phosphorescence or fluorescence generated by the object after optical, electrical, or acoustic excitation of the object by illumination light, etc.). Therefore, detection light may be generated directly or indirectly through illumination of the object by illumination light.

[0030] As used herein, the term “irradiate” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meanings. In particular, the term may refer to, but is not limited to, the process of exposing at least one element to light.

[0031] Furthermore, as will be outlined in detail below, various light sources, such as primary and secondary light sources, can be distinguished within the light source itself. Therefore, as will be described later, "primary light" (also called "excitation light") is generated by at least one primary light source such as a light-emitting diode, and may then be converted into "secondary light" using, for example, light conversion by a light emitter through one or more phosphor materials. As mentioned above, illumination light includes at least partially primary and secondary light. Specifically, illumination light may include the portion of primary light generated by the light-emitting diode that was not converted into secondary light due to, for example, low conversion efficiency of the light-emitting material, and secondary light.

[0032] As described above, the light source includes at least one light-emitting diode and at least one light-emitting material for converting the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode into secondary light.

[0033] As used herein, the terms “light-emitting diode” or “LED” are broad terms, given the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and are not limited to any special or customized meanings. Specifically, the term may refer to, but is not limited to, a photoelectron semiconductor device capable of emitting light when an electric current flows through the device. This photoelectron semiconductor device may be configured to produce light by physical processes such as spontaneous emission, stimulated emission, or the decay of metastable excited states. Thus, as an example, a light-emitting diode may include one or more of the following: a light-emitting diode based on spontaneous emission (especially organic light-emitting diodes), a light-emitting diode based on superluminescence (sLED), or a laser diode (LD). Hereafter, the abbreviation “LED” will be used for all types of light-emitting diodes without limiting possible embodiments of the light-emitting diode to any of the aforementioned physical principles or configurations. Specifically, an LED may comprise at least two layers of semiconductor material, where light is generated at at least one interface between the at least two layers of semiconductor material, particularly by the recombination of positive and negative charges (e.g., electron-hole recombination). At least two semiconductor material layers may have different electrical properties; for example, at least one layer may be an n-type doped semiconductor material and at least one layer may be a p-type doped semiconductor material. Therefore, for example, an LED may include at least one pn junction and / or at least one pin configuration. However, it should be noted that other device structures are also possible. At least one semiconductor material may be, in particular, at least one inorganic semiconductor material, or may include at least one inorganic semiconductor material. However, it should be noted that organic semiconductor materials may be used additionally or as a substitute.

[0034] In general, an LED may convert an electrical current into light, specifically primary light, and more specifically blue primary light, which will be discussed later. Therefore, the LED may be a blue LED in particular. The LED may be configured to generate primary light (also known as "pump light"). Therefore, the LED may also be called a "pump LED". The LED may include at least one LED chip and / or at least one LED die. Therefore, the semiconductor element of the LED may include an LED bare chip.

[0035] Various types of LEDs suitable for generating primary light are well known to those skilled in the art and are applicable to the present invention. Specifically, pn diodes may be used. For example, one or more LEDs selected from indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based LEDs, GaN based LEDs, InGaN / GaN alloy based LEDs, combinations thereof, and / or other LEDs may be used. Additionally, or instead, quantum well LEDs may also be used, for example, one or more InGaN-based quantum well LEDs may be used. Additionally, or instead, superluminescent LEDs (sLEDs) and / or quantum cascade lasers may also be used.

[0036] As used herein, the term “luminescence” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any particular or restrictive meaning. Specifically, the term may refer to the process of spontaneous light emission by a substance that is not caused by heat. In particular, luminescence may refer to cold radiation. More specifically, luminescence may be initiated or excited by irradiation with light, in which case the luminescence is also referred to as “photoluminescence.” In the context of this invention, the property of a material having the ability to emit light is indicated by the adjective “luminescent.” At least one luminescent material may be a photoluminescent material, i.e., a material that can emit light after absorbing a photon or excitation light. Specifically, a luminescent material may have a positive Stokes shift, which generally refers to the fact that secondary light is redshifted relative to primary light.

[0037] Therefore, at least one luminescent material may form at least one converter (also called a light converter) that converts primary light into secondary light having spectral characteristics different from those of the primary light. Specifically, the spectral width of the secondary light may be wider than that of the primary light, and / or the central wavelength of the secondary light may be shifted (especially red-shifted) compared to the primary light. Specifically, at least one luminescent material may exhibit absorption in the ultraviolet and / or blue spectral regions and emit light in the near-infrared and / or infrared spectral regions. Therefore, generally, the luminescent material or converter forms at least one component of an LED, especially a phosphor LED, and converts primary light or excitation light (especially in the blue spectral region) into light of a longer wavelength (e.g., in the near-infrared or infrared spectral region).

[0038] Various types of conversion and / or emission are known and can be used in the context of the present invention. Specifically, the conversion can occur via dipole-allowed transitions (also called fluorescence) in the luminescent material and / or via dipole-forbidden transitions (therefore long-lived and often also called phosphorescence) in the luminescent material.

[0039] Therefore, the luminescent material may form at least one converter or light converter. The luminescent material may form at least one of a converter platelet, a luminescent (especially fluorescent) coating on an LED, and a phosphor coating on an LED. The luminescent material can include, for example, one or more of the following materials: cerium-doped YAG (YAG:Ce 3+ , or Y3Al5O 12 :Ce 3+ ); rare-earth-doped sialon; copper- and aluminum-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu,Al).

[0040] The light source may also include a phosphor light-emitting diode. Specifically, the LED and the light-emitting material may be integrated to form a so-called "phosphor LED." Therefore, the terms "phosphor light-emitting diode" or "phosphor LED" as used herein are broad terms, given the meaning that a person skilled in the art would ordinarily understand, and are not limited to any special or customized meaning. In particular, the term may refer to a combination of at least one light-emitting diode configured to produce primary light or pump light, and at least one light-emitting material (also referred to as a "phosphor") configured to convert the primary light produced by the light-emitting diode into light. A phosphor LED may form a packaged LED light source comprising an LED die (e.g., a blue LED emitting blue pump light) and a phosphor (e.g., configured to convert primary light or blue light into light with different spectral characteristics, particularly near-infrared light) that covers the LED all or partially. Generally, a phosphor LED may be enclosed in a single housing or may be unenclosed. Therefore, the LED and at least one light-emitting material for converting the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode may be housed in a common housing. However, alternatively, the LED may be a bare LED without a housing, or it may be completely or partially covered with a light-emitting material, which can be achieved, for example, by placing one or more layers of light-emitting material on the LED die. Phosphor LEDs can generally form a light-emitting body or light source on their own.

[0041] In a light source, particularly a phosphor LED, at least one light-emitting material may be positioned relative to a light-emitting diode (LED) such that heat transfer from one LED to the other is possible. More specifically, the light-emitting material may be positioned such that heat transfer by either thermal radiation or thermal conduction, or both (more preferably by thermal conduction), is possible. Thus, for example, the light-emitting material may maintain thermal and / or physical contact with the LED. As an example, the light-emitting material may form one or more coatings or layers in contact with or close to one or more of the semiconductor materials of the LED. In this way, the light-emitting material and the LED can generally be thermally coupled. As used herein, the terms “thermally coupled” or simply “thermally coupled” are broad terms given to the ordinary meanings that are commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and are not limited to any special or customized meanings. Specifically, the term may, but is not limited to, the temperature difference (0.1K to 5K, particularly 0.1K to 1K, more specifically 0.1K to 0.5K) that exists between the LED and the light-emitting material during the operation of the light source. In other words, given the primary and secondary power spectral densities, a single temperature can be assigned to both the light-emitting diode and the phosphor material, i.e., the light source. The advantage of thermal coupling is that the spectra of the light-emitting diode and the phosphor material exhibit separate but characteristic temperature dependencies. Furthermore, as a detailed advantage described later, a single temperature assigned to the light source can be determined using either spectrum or a portion thereof, and the spectral information of the object can be derived from the other spectrum using this single temperature of the light source. This allows temperature information regarding the light source to be taken into consideration.

[0042] At least one light-emitting material can, in particular, form at least one layer. In general, various alternatives for arranging the light-emitting material relative to a light-emitting diode can be realized individually or in combination. Firstly, a phosphor material (e.g., at least one layer of phosphor material, e.g., phosphor) can be placed directly on the light-emitting diode, also known as "direct attachment," and includes cases where no material is sandwiched between the LED and the phosphor material, or where one or more transparent materials (especially materials transparent to primary light) are sandwiched between them. Thus, as an example, a coating of light-emitting material can be placed directly or indirectly on the LED. Additionally, or alternatively, the light-emitting material can form, for example, at least one transducer body (at least one transducer disk, etc.), which can be placed on top of the LED by, for example, attachment to the LED with adhesive. Additionally, or alternatively, the light-emitting material may be remotely arranged, in which case the primary light from the LED must pass through an intermediate optical path before reaching the light-emitting material. This arrangement is also known as "remote arrangement" or "remote phosphor." For example, in remote placement, the light-emitting material can form a solid body such as a disk or converter disk, or the converter body itself. Furthermore, in remote placement, the light-emitting material may also be in the form of a coating. In particular, it is possible to coat a light-transmitting object (e.g., thin glass substrate, module window) made of / fabricated from glass or plastic with phosphor. Alternatively, phosphor can be coated onto a reflective surface. This may be a flat or rough surface mirror containing / fabricated from a high refractive index material (e.g., silicon), or a flat or rough surface (e.g., glass or plastic) coated with gold, silver, aluminum, or chromium. One or more optical elements, such as lenses, prisms, diffraction gratings, mirrors, apertures, or combinations thereof, may be placed in the intermediate optical path. Specifically, it is possible to place an optical system with image-forming properties in the intermediate optical path between the LED and the light-emitting material. This allows, for example, the primary light to be focused or concentrated onto the converter body.

[0043] The primary light may be located at least partially in the spectral range of 380 nm to 1000 nm, specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 940 nm, more specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 830 nm, and even more specifically in the spectral range of 440 nm to 830 nm. For example, the primary light may be located in the spectral range between the first wavelength and the second wavelength, where the first wavelength is selected from 380 nm, 420 nm, and 440 nm, and the second wavelength is selected from 1000 nm, 940 nm, 830 nm, 460 nm, and 455 nm. For example, an LED may include a blue LED whose primary emission range is located at least partially in the spectral range of 420 nm to 460 nm, specifically in the spectral range of 440 nm to 455 nm, and even more specifically at 440 nm.

[0044] The primary light generated by a light-emitting diode, if not converted to secondary light by the light-emitting material, lies at least partially in the spectral range of 420 nm to 940 nm, more specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 830 nm, and even more specifically in the spectral range of 440 nm to 830 nm. For example, the primary light may lie in the spectral range between the first and second wavelengths, where the first wavelength can be selected from 380 nm, 420 nm, and 440 nm, and the second wavelength can be selected from 1000 nm, 940 nm, 830 nm, 460 nm, and 455 nm.

[0045] The secondary light may be located at least partially in a spectral range of 1 μm to 5 μm, specifically in a spectral range of 1.5 μm to 3 μm, and more specifically in a spectral range of 1.5 μm to 2.5 μm. For example, the secondary light may be located in the spectral range between the first wavelength and the second wavelength, where the first wavelength includes at least one of 1 μm or 1.5 μm, and the second wavelength is selected from 5 μm, 3 μm, and 1.5 μm.

[0046] As described above, the spectrometer apparatus comprises at least one broadband detector for detecting detection light from an object in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light. The verb “detect” as used herein is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense that a person skilled in the art would normally understand, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. In particular, the term may, but is not limited to, at least one process of qualitatively and / or quantitatively determining, measuring, or monitoring at least one parameter, such as a physical parameter, a chemical parameter, or a biological parameter. Specifically, the physical parameter may be an electrical parameter, or may include an electrical parameter. Accordingly, the term “detector” as used herein is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense that a person skilled in the art would normally understand, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. The term may, without particular limitation, represent any apparatus configured to qualitatively and / or quantitatively determine, measure, or monitor at least one parameter, such as a physical parameter, a chemical parameter, or a biological parameter. The detector may be configured to generate at least one detector signal, more specifically at least one electrical detector signal (such as an analog detector signal and / or a digital detector signal). The detector signal may provide information about at least one parameter measured by the detector. Since the detector signal may be provided directly or indirectly from the detector to the evaluation unit, the detector and the evaluation unit may be connected directly or indirectly. The detector signal may be used as a "raw" detector signal, or it may be used after being processed or preprocessed by filtering, etc. Accordingly, the detector may include at least one processing unit and / or at least one preprocessing unit (including at least one of an amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, an electrical filter, a Fourier transform, etc.).

[0047] As used herein, the term “broadband detector” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. The term may, in particular, represent at least one detector configured to detect light in multiple of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectral regions, in the sense described above. Specifically, a broadband detector may be configured to detect light in a first region of the visible spectral range and a second region of the infrared spectral range, where the second region is preferably adjacent to the first region, but a second region separated from the first region may also be used. A broadband detector may be configured to detect light from an object in the range of 200 nm to 5 μm, preferably 300 nm to 3 μm, and more preferably 400 nm to 2.5 μm.

[0048] A broadband detector may be configured to detect light (referred to as "detected light" according to the aforementioned nomenclature) propagating from an object to a spectrometer, and more specifically to the detector of the spectrometer. Thus, specifically, a broadband detector may be at least one optical detector, or may include at least one optical detector. The optical detector may be configured to measure at least one optical parameter, such as the intensity and / or power of the light illuminating at least one photosensitive region of the broadband detector. More specifically, the photodetector may include at least one photosensitive element and / or at least one photosensor, such as a photodiode, photocell, photosensitive resistor, phototransistor, thermoelectric sensor, photoacoustic sensor, pyroelectric sensor, photomultiplier tube, and bolometer. Thus, a broadband detector may be configured to generate at least one detector signal, more specifically at least one electrical detector signal, which can provide information about at least one optical parameter (such as the power and / or intensity of the light illuminating the broadband detector or the sensitive region of the broadband detector) in the sense described above.

[0049] A broadband detector may include a single photosensitive element or region, or multiple photosensitive elements or regions. Specifically, a broadband detector may include, or be, at least one detector array, more specifically, an array of photosensitive elements, as outlined in more detail below. Each photosensitive element may include at least one photosensitive region configured to generate an electrical signal in response to the intensity of incident light, which is provided to an evaluation unit, in particular, as described later.

[0050] The photosensitive region of each photosensitive element may be a single, uniform photosensitive region configured to receive incident light irradiated onto each individual photosensitive element. However, other arrangements of photosensitive elements are also possible.

[0051] An array of photosensitive elements may be designed to generate detector signals (preferably electronic signals) related to the intensity of incident light irradiating each individual photosensitive element. These detector signals may be analog and / or digital. Electronic signals from adjacent pixelated sensors may be generated simultaneously or sequentially in time accordingly. For example, during row scanning or line scanning, it is possible to generate a sequence of electronic signals corresponding to a sequence of individual photosensitive elements arranged in a row. Furthermore, each individual photosensitive element may preferably be an active pixel sensor adaptable to amplify its electronic signal before supplying it to an evaluation unit. For this purpose, the broadband detector may include one or more signal processing devices, such as one or more filters and / or analog-to-digital converters, for processing and / or preprocessing the electronic signal.

[0052] If the broadband detector includes an array of optically sensitive elements, the broadband detector may be selected from, for example, any known pixel sensor, particularly pixelated organic camera elements, preferably pixelated organic camera chips, or pixelated inorganic camera elements, preferably pixelated inorganic camera chips, more preferably CCD chips or CMOS chips, which are currently commonly used in various cameras. As another option, the broadband detector is generally an optical conductor, particularly an inorganic optical conductor, particularly PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe, or may include them. As yet another option, it is an optical diode, particularly an optical diode including at least one of Si, Ge, InGaAs, or extended InGaAs, or may include them. As yet another alternative, it may be at least one of pyroelectric, bolometer, or thermofil type sensing elements, or may include them. Thus, a camera chip having a 1×N pixel or M×N pixel matrix may be used here, for example, where M is less than 10 and N is in the range of 1 to 50, preferably in the range of 2 to 20, more preferably in the range of 5 to 10. Furthermore, a monochrome camera element, preferably a monochrome camera chip, can be used, and this monochrome camera element may be selected differently for each optically sensitive element, particularly depending on the wavelength that changes along the optical sensor array.

[0053] Therefore, this array is adaptable to provide multiple electrical signals generated by the photosensitive regions of the photosensitive elements constituting the array. The electrical signals provided by the array of the spectrometer may be transferred to an evaluation unit.

[0054] As used herein, the term “primary detector signal” is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. In particular, the term may refer to, but is not limited to, at least one detector signal in the sense described above, generated by a broadband detector when detecting detection light within the spectral range of primary light.

[0055] Similarly, the term “secondary detector signal” as used herein is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. The term may, but is not limited to, the at least one detector signal in the aforementioned sense, generated by a broadband detector when detecting detected light within the spectral range of secondary light.

[0056] A broadband detector may include multiple detection elements, such as the multiple photosensitive elements described above, for detecting detection light within the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light. For example, a broadband detector may include a pixelated broadband detector that includes multiple photosensitive pixels or elements, as described above. For example, a broadband detector may include at least one first detection element for detecting detection light within the spectral range of primary light and at least one second detection element for detecting detection light within the spectral range of secondary light. Specifically, the first detection element may be configured to generate a primary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of primary light. The second detection element may be configured to generate a secondary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of secondary light. Each detection element may include a photosensitive material selected from at least one of PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe. Each detection element of the multiple detection elements may include the same photosensitive material or different photosensitive materials. Different materials may be used in particular for the detector elements if different sensitivities are expected in different wavelength ranges and / or different use cases. Alternatively, the broadband detector may be a single detector comprising a photosensitive material selected from at least one of PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe. Another option is that the broadband detector may be a single detector comprising a photodiode, particularly one comprising at least one of Si, Ge, InGaAs, or ext.InGaAs.

[0057] The spectrometer apparatus may further include at least one drive unit for electrically driving a light source. As used herein, the term “drive” is broad and given its ordinary meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may refer to, but is not limited to, the process of providing either or both of at least one control parameter and / or electrical power to another device. Accordingly, as used herein, the term “drive unit” is broad and given its ordinary meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. In particular, the term may refer to any device (apparatus) or combination of devices configured to provide at least one control parameter and / or electrical power to another device (in this embodiment, at least one light source). For example, a drive unit may be configured to measure and / or control one or more electrical parameters of the power supplied to a light source, specifically at least one light-emitting diode (LED). As an example, a drive unit may be configured to supply an electrical current to an LED, and in particular to control the electrical current flowing through the LED. Here, for example, the drive unit may be configured to adapt and measure the voltage supplied to the LED, which is required to achieve a specific current flowing through the LED. The drive unit may specifically include one or more of the following: a current source, a voltage source, a current measuring device (such as an ampere meter), a voltage measuring device (such as a voltmeter), or a power measuring device. Specifically, the drive unit may include at least one current source for supplying at least one predetermined current to the LED, which may be configured to adjust or control the voltage applied to the LED to generate the predetermined current. The drive unit may, for example, include one or more electrical components such as an integrated circuit for driving a light source. The drive unit may be fully or partially integrated with the light source, or it may be separate from the light source.

[0058] The drive unit may be configured to drive the light-emitting diode at at least one drive frequency. As used herein, the term “drive frequency” is a broad term and is given the ordinary meaning that is commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may refer to, but is not limited to, a quantitative measurement of the number of drive cycles of the light source per unit time. Specifically, the drive frequency may represent the number of drive cycles of the light source per second. The drive of a light source, i.e., the process of supplying the light source with either or both of at least one control parameter and / or electrical power at a first value in which the light source emits light and / or a second value in which the light source does not emit light, may be referred to as a single drive cycle.

[0059] Furthermore, the driving frequency may exceed the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material. The term “time constant” as used herein is a broad term, given in the sense that those skilled in the art would ordinarily understand, and is not limited to any special or customized meanings. Specifically, the term may, but is not limited to, a typical time interval describing the equilibrium state, particularly the reorganization of the equilibrium state of a light-emitting material, when at least one operating parameter is changed. The time constant τ may also describe the delay between the absorption of at least one primary photon by the light-emitting material and the emission of at least one secondary photon by the light-emitting material. This delay may be characterized by a so-called “characteristic time constant” τ (also simply referred to as the “time constant,” “decay time,” or “saturation time”). When used in processes where the rate or probability of a process, such as photon emission, is proportional to the occupancy rate of one or more states or process states, the occupancy rate usually changes exponentially. In these processes, the time constant τ may determine the 1 / e-time of the process. In light-emitting materials or converters, particularly phosphors, two different time constants may arise. Firstly, the first time constant may describe the typical time at which the emission of converted light reaches a saturation state, and may be called the "growth constant," etc., and may depend on the intensity of the excitation light. Secondly, the second time constant may represent the typical time of the afterglow of the light-emitting material or converter, and this may be called the "decay constant" or "decay." The drive frequency may be set to exceed the reciprocal of the decay constant of the light-emitting material in particular. Furthermore, the evaluation unit may be configured to distinguish between the primary detector signal and the secondary detector signal by demodulation using a Fourier transform, particularly the fast Fourier transform. Accordingly, the spectrometer device may be configured to perform pulse width modulation of the light source using the drive unit.

[0060] As described above, the spectrometer apparatus includes at least one evaluation unit for evaluating the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector. The term “evaluate” as used herein is broad and given its ordinary meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. In particular, the term may represent, but is not limited to, a process of processing at least one first information item to generate at least one second information item. Accordingly, the term “evaluation unit” as used herein is broad and given its ordinary meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may represent any apparatus or combination of apparatus configured to evaluate or process at least one first information item and generate at least one second information item therefrom. Accordingly, specifically, an evaluation unit may be configured to process at least one input signal and generate at least one output signal therefrom. The at least one input signal may include, for example, at least one primary detector signal and at least one secondary detector signal provided directly or indirectly by the broadband detector.

[0061] For example, the evaluation unit may be one or more integrated circuits (e.g., one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) and / or one or more data processing devices (e.g., one or more computers, digital signal processing devices (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), preferably one or more microcomputers and / or microcontrollers), or may include them. Additional components may include one or more preprocessing devices and / or data acquisition devices (e.g., one or more devices for receiving and / or preprocessing detector signals, e.g., one or more A / D converters and / or one or more filters). Furthermore, the evaluation unit may include one or more data storage devices. Furthermore, the evaluation unit may include one or more interfaces, e.g., one or more wireless interfaces and / or one or more wired interfaces.

[0062] The evaluation unit may be configured to run at least one computer program, for example, at least one computer program that performs or assists in the step of generating items of information. For example, one or more algorithms may be implemented that take primary and secondary detector signals as input variables, determine temperature information of a light source, and perform predetermined transformations to derive spectral information of an object, where, for example, the dominant temperature of the light source may be taken into account in order to derive at least one spectral piece of information describing at least one characteristic of the object. For this purpose, the evaluation unit may particularly include at least one data processing device, in particular an electronic data processing device, also referred to as a processor, which may be designed to generate desired information by evaluating the primary and secondary detector signals. The evaluation unit may generate the necessary information using any process, such as calculation and / or the use of at least one stored and / or known relation. The evaluation unit may particularly be configured to run at least one digital signal processing (DSP) technique, including at least one Fourier transform, on the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal derived therefrom. Additionally, or alternatively, the evaluation unit may be configured to perform one or more further digital signal processing techniques on the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal derived therefrom, including, for example, winding, filtering, Gerzel algorithm, cross-correlation, and autocorrelation. In addition to the primary and secondary detector signals, one or more additional parameters and / or information items may influence the relationship. This relationship may be determined empirically, analytically, or semi-empirically. For example, the relationship may include a model or calibration curve, at least one set of calibration curves, at least one function, or at least one combination of the aforementioned possibilities. One or more calibration curves may be stored, for example, in the form of a set of values ​​and their associated function values, for example, in a data storage device and / or table. However, alternatively or additionally, at least one calibration curve may also be stored, for example, in a parameterized form and / or as a functional equation. Separate relational expressions may be used for processing the primary and secondary detector signals into information items.Alternatively, at least one unified relation for processing the primary and secondary detector signals is also feasible. Various possibilities are conceivable, and they can be combined. The evaluation unit is, - Evaluate the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector. - Determine the temperature information of the light source from either the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal. - Taking into account the temperature information of the light source, the spectral information of the object is derived from either the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal. It is configured in this way.

[0063] The term "temperature information" as used herein is a broad term, given in the sense that a person skilled in the art would ordinarily understand, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may represent, but is not limited to, a specific information item that characterizes, for example, at least one characteristic relating to the temperature of, at least one object, and more specifically, at least one information item that characterizes (e.g., modifies and / or quantifies), for example, at least one of the following: object temperature, surface temperature, and temperature near the object. Specifically, intensity information may correspond to, or be derived from, signal intensity, in particular electrical signal, recorded by a spectrometer with respect to the wavelength or wavelength range of a spectrum. In the present invention, the body may be, or include, at least one light source used to generate illumination light for illuminating an object. Accordingly, the light source includes at least one light-emitting diode and at least one light-emitting material for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode into secondary light. As described above, the light-emitting material and the light-emitting diode may generally be thermally coupled during the operation of the light source. This type of thermal coupling allows a single temperature to be assigned to both the light-emitting diode and the light-emitting material constituting the light source. Accordingly, temperature information, such as a single temperature assigned to the light source, can be determined using either spectrum or a part thereof. Subsequently, the predetermined single temperature of the light source, or single temperatures sequentially determined in this manner, can be taken into consideration when deriving spectral information of an object from other spectra. The term “take into consideration” as used herein, or its grammatical variations thereof, is a broad term and is given the ordinary meaning that is ordinarily understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. While not particularly limited, this term may refer to a process of modifying at least one second information item using at least one first information item, and in particular, a process of determining at least one second information item by considering the influence of at least one type of influence, such as temperature, represented by at least one first information item, on at least one second information item.

[0064] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the temperature information of the light source is determined from the primary detector signal, while the spectral information of the object can be derived from the secondary detector signal by taking into account the temperature information of the light source determined from the primary detector signal. However, the temperature information of the light source can also be determined from the secondary detector signal, or alternatively or additionally, while the spectral information of the object can be derived from the primary detector signal by taking into account the temperature information of the light source determined from the secondary detector signal. For example, the primary and secondary detector signals can be detected simultaneously using a broadband detector as otherwise described herein, and these can then be used for the above purposes. In another example, the broadband detector may include a plurality of detection elements, at least one particular detection element may be configured to determine the temperature information of the light source, and at least one other detection element may be configured to derive the spectral information of the object. However, other examples are also possible.

[0065] Spectroscopic information relating to an object may include at least one of volumetric spectroscopic information relating to the object and surface spectroscopic information relating to the object. Specifically, the penetration depth of illumination light into the object may depend on the spectral range of the object itself and / or the primary or secondary light used to derive the spectroscopic information. For example, the object analyzed by the spectrometer may include the skin of the user. In this example, the evaluation unit may be configured to evaluate the primary detector signal generated by the broadband detector and derive volumetric spectroscopic information relating to the object. Furthermore, the evaluation unit may be configured to evaluate the secondary detector signal generated by the broadband detector and determine temperature information relating to the light source used to derive the spectroscopic information relating to the object. In this way, the heat generated by both the LED and the light-emitting material during the operation of the light source can be determined and used to correct the spectroscopic information relating to the object. The term “correction” as used herein is a broad term and is given in the ordinary sense as usually understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. This term may, but is not limited to, represent a process of modifying at least one second information item using at least one first information item. In particular, this term is used to compensate for the effect of at least one type of influence, such as temperature, represented by at least one first information item, on at least one second information item. For example, an object may contain water that exhibits strong absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region, for example, in the spectral region with wavelengths of 1300 nm or higher. Therefore, by placing the spectral region of secondary light in this spectral region, it becomes possible to derive surface spectral information of the object by evaluating the secondary detector signal. Furthermore, the temperature can be determined from a known temperature dependence in another spectral region using the primary detector signal, and the temperature estimated in this way can be used to compensate for the effect of heat generation during the operation of the light source. As an example, the intensity of a pump LED can be used for this purpose, particularly because the intensity of a pump LED under a constant operating current depends on the efficiency of the pump LED, i.e., the temperature of the pump LED.As another example, the spectral shift of a pump LED with respect to temperature can be monitored by observing multiple wavelengths, particularly within the spectral range of 420 nm to 460 nm. However, various other examples are also possible.

[0066] Within these wavelength ranges, it may be possible to generate primary and secondary detector signals using multiple detection elements. For example, at least one detection element containing Si can be used for wavelengths around 940 nm, and at least one additional detection element containing PbS can be used for wavelengths between 1500 and 2500 nm. Alternatively, a single broadband detector, specifically a single broadband detector containing PbS, can be used to detect detection light in both wavelength ranges. Another option is to use a Si photodiode as a single broadband detector, which can be used specifically to detect primary light around 440 nm and secondary light around 1100 nm. Since the excitation LED may be faster than the light-emitting material, by adjusting the pulse shape applied to the excitation LED, the frequency-domain information obtained from the fast Fourier transform can be made to provide spectral information from both the primary and secondary detector signals using a single broadband detector.

[0067] The spectrometer apparatus may further include at least one wavelength-selective element. The term “wavelength-selective element” as used herein is a broad term, given in the ordinary sense as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may, but is not limited to, any optical element that interacts in different ways with different spectral regions of incident light. For example, it may have at least one wavelength-dependent optical property selected from the list consisting of reflectance, reflection direction, refractive index, refraction direction, absorptance, transmittance, and refractive index.

[0068] The wavelength-selective element may be configured such that the broadband detector generates at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of primary light, and generates at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of secondary light.

[0069] Wavelength selection by at least one wavelength-selective element may occur in at least one optical path of illumination light and / or in the detection optical path of detection light to select and / or change the wavelength of illumination of the subject, for example, to select and / or change the detection wavelength for the entire broadband detector and / or for each detection element. The wavelength-selective element may include at least one wavelength-selective element located in the optical path of illumination light or at least one wavelength-selective element located in the optical path of detection light.

[0070] The wavelength-selective element may be selected from at least one of a tunable wavelength-selective element or a wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum. The wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum may include at least one filter element, specifically at least one absorption filter element, and more specifically, a bandpass filter element. The tunable wavelength-selective element may include at least one tunable interferometer, specifically at least one MEMS Fabry-Perot interferometer and / or MEMS Michelson interferometer.

[0071] For example, a wavelength-selective element may be placed in the detection path of the detected light. The wavelength-selective element may be configured to guide the detected light within the spectral range of the primary light to a first detector element constituting a broadband detector, thereby allowing the broadband detector to detect the detected light within the spectral range of the primary light and generate a primary detector signal. Furthermore, the wavelength-selective element may be configured to guide the detected light in the spectral range of the secondary light to a second detector constituting a broadband detector, thereby allowing the broadband detector to detect the detected light in the spectral range of the secondary light and generate a secondary detector signal. Alternatively, the broadband detector may be a single detector as described above, and the wavelength-selective element may be a tunable wavelength-selective element, allowing the spectral range detected by the broadband detector to be adjusted.

[0072] In a further embodiment of the present invention, a method for obtaining spectral information relating to at least one object is disclosed.

[0073] This method includes the following steps, which may be performed in a predetermined order. However, different orders are also possible. In particular, one, more, or all method steps may be performed once or repeatedly. Furthermore, the method steps may be performed sequentially, or one or more method steps may be performed in overlapping or parallel manner, and / or in combination. This method may include additional steps not described.

[0074] This method includes the following steps: a) Providing at least one spectrometer apparatus according to the present invention, for example, according to any embodiment disclosed above and / or according to any embodiment disclosed in more detail below; b) A step of illuminating an object with illumination light generated by a light source, wherein the light source includes at least one light-emitting diode and at least one light-emitting material for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode into secondary light, and the illumination light includes at least partially primary light and secondary light; c) A step of detecting detection light from an object using at least one broadband detector in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light, wherein the broadband detector is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of primary light, and is configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of secondary light; and d) Using an evaluation unit, evaluate the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector, determine the temperature information of the light source from either the primary or secondary detector signal, and derive the spectral information of the object from the other of the primary or secondary detector signal, taking the temperature information of the light source into consideration.

[0075] Specifically, this method involves using a spectrometer apparatus according to the present invention, for example, one of the embodiments described above and / or one of the detailed embodiments described later. Therefore, for possible embodiments of the spectrometer apparatus and / or definitions of terms, refer to the description of the spectrometer apparatus outlined above.

[0076] Step d) may include determining the temperature information of the light source from the primary detector signal and determining the spectral information of the object from the secondary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information of the light source determined from the primary detector signal. Specifically, the spectral information of the object may include at least one of the volume spectral information of the object and the surface spectral information of the object.

[0077] Alternatively, or additionally, step d) may include determining the temperature information of the light source from the secondary detector signal, and determining the spectral information of the object from the primary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information of the light source determined from the secondary detector signal. Here again, the spectral information of the object may include at least one of the volume spectral information of the object and the surface spectral information of the object.

[0078] The spectrometer apparatus may further include at least one drive unit for electrically driving a light source. This method may, in particular in step b), include driving the light-emitting diode with the drive unit at at least one drive frequency. The drive frequency may be higher than the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material. The evaluation in step d) may include distinguishing between the primary and secondary detector signals by demodulation using a Fourier transform, in particular the fast Fourier transform.

[0079] This method may be performed at least partially by computer, particularly at least step d). With regard to computer embodiments of the present invention, one or more method steps, or all of the method steps, of one or more embodiments of the method disclosed herein may be performed, assisted, or supported by a computer or computer network. In general, any method step involving the provision and / or manipulation of data may be performed using a computer or computer network. In general, these method steps may include any of the method steps except for method steps that require manual work, such as providing a spectrometer and / or providing an object and / or performing the actual measurement.

[0080] In a further embodiment of the present invention, a computer program is disclosed. This program includes instructions that cause the spectrometer apparatus to perform at least steps b) through d) of the method according to the present invention (for example, according to one of the embodiments expressed above and / or one of the embodiments expressed in further detail below), when executed by the spectrometer apparatus according to the present invention, for example, according to any embodiment expressed above and / or any embodiment expressed in further detail below.

[0081] In a further aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium, specifically a non-temporary computer-readable medium, is disclosed which includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the spectrometer apparatus according to the present invention, causes the spectrometer apparatus to perform, for example, one of the embodiments disclosed above and / or one of the embodiments disclosed in further detail below, at least steps b) through d) of the method of the present invention. In this specification, the term "computer-readable storage medium" may, in particular, refer to non-temporary data storage means such as hardware storage media on which computer executable instructions are stored. The computer-readable storage medium may, in particular, be, or include, storage media such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM).

[0082] The spectrometer apparatus and method according to the present invention offer numerous advantages over similar known apparatuses and methods in one or more embodiments described above and / or in one or more embodiments described in detail below. A spectrometer apparatus equipped with a broadband detector may offer the possibility of using both primary and secondary light to determine the temperature information of the light source, and further, taking the temperature information into consideration, it may offer the possibility of deriving the spectral information of the object by selecting and / or extending the spectral emission range, specifically by using an excitation LED having a shorter emission wavelength and a light-emitting material having an emission spectrum at longer wavelengths. In this way, heating of both the LED and the light-emitting material during the operation of the light source can be estimated and used to correct the spectral information of the object.

[0083] To detect radiation in both wavelength ranges, the spectrometer is equipped with a broadband detector, which is specifically defined by two or more separate detector elements or a single broadband detector that are sensitive to both the primary and secondary light wavelength ranges, particularly the excitation wavelength range of the LED and the conversion wavelength range of the light-emitting material. When a single broadband detector is used to detect both radiations, pulse width modulation of the light source makes it possible to distinguish between the primary and secondary detector signals.

[0084] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the LED for the pump can be modulated using a pulse train, and specifically using a drive unit described herein. The term “pulse train” as used herein is a broad term and is given the meaning that is ordinarily understood by those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. Specifically, the term may also refer to a sequence of pulses in which the individual pulses have a high frequency, but the pulse package as a whole has a lower frequency, and is particularly used to excite at least one material that the pulse train irradiates. In other words, the high-frequency sequence of individual pulses may be modulated by the low frequency of the pulse package, and this modulation may be represented by a modulation frequency f1. To provide additional information regarding the modulation frequency f1, typically, the decay that occurs between the absorption of at least one primary photon by the light-emitting material and the emission of at least one secondary photon by the light-emitting material can be taken into account. This delay is characterized by the so-called “characteristic time constant” τ, also known as the “time constant,” “decay time,” or “saturation time.” As is generally known to those skilled in the art, the term “time constant” as used herein is a broad term, given its ordinary and customary meaning based on the ordinary technical knowledge of those skilled in the art, and is not limited to any special or customized meaning. When used in processes where the rate or probability of a process, such as photon emission, is proportional to one or more states or the occupancy rate of process states, the occupancy rate usually changes exponentially. The time constant τ in these processes can determine the 1 / e time of the process. In light-emitting materials or converters, particularly phosphors, two different time constants may arise. Firstly, the first time constant may describe the typical time to reach saturation of the emission of the converted light. Secondly, the second time constant may describe the typical time of the afterglow of the light-emitting material or converter.

[0085] The typical time constant of a phosphor converter is in the range of 0.1 ms to less than 10 ms. The time constant usually differs between different phosphor LEDs and / or between different types of light-emitting materials or phosphors. Generally, phosphors emitting shorter wavelengths exhibit smaller time constants. Furthermore, there is the decay time constant τ. d and the increasing time constant τg These time constants may also be wavelength-dependent. These time constants are typically derived from the step response of the optical signal upon application or interruption of a positive current.

[0086] After the positive current is interrupted, the signal or light emission usually decays according to equation (1):

number

[0087] After applying a positive current, the signal or light emission typically increases according to equation (2):

number

[0088] In both equations (1) and (2), S0 is the optical signal level at t0 when the positive current is applied / cut off. max This is the optical signal level reached at t>>5.

[0089] In particular, the increasing time constant τ g and decay time constant τ d By using this, the modulation frequency f1 can be expressed in equation (3) as follows:

number

[0090] An example of a pulse train is described and illustrated below.

[0091] In particular with respect to the present invention, the pulse train simultaneously provides primary light having high frequencies from individual pulses generated by the pump LED and secondary light having a low modulation frequency f1 of the pulse package. Here, the low modulation frequency f1 of the pulse package is selected so that the light-emitting material or transducer, specifically a phosphor, can follow the excitation by the pulse package provided by the pulse train. When both emissions are detected using a single broadband detector, frequency multiplexing of the combined detector signal generated by the single broadband detector makes it possible to distinguish between the primary detector signal (i.e., the pump signal provided by the LED) and the secondary detector signal (i.e., the transducer signal provided by the light-emitting material, specifically a phosphor) within the combined detector signal generated by the single broadband detector. In this way, different types of information can be extracted from the combined detector signal generated by the single broadband detector and then used for the purpose of the present invention, namely, to determine the temperature information of the light source and to derive the spectral information of the object taking into account the temperature information of the light source.

[0092] In this specification, the terms “have,” “include,” or “encompass,” and any grammatical variations thereof, are used in a non-exclusive sense. Thus, these terms can refer to both situations in which the entity described in the context has no further features other than those introduced by the term, and situations in which one or more further features exist. For example, the expressions “A has B,” “A includes B,” and “A encompasses B” can refer to both situations in which there are no elements other than B (i.e., A consists only of B), and situations in which A has elements C, elements C and D, or more elements in addition to B.

[0093] Furthermore, it should be noted that phrases like "at least one," "one or more," or similar expressions (indicating that a feature or element may exist more than once) are typically used only once when introducing the feature or element in question. In most cases, when referring to such a feature or element, the phrases "at least one" or "one or more" are not repeated, even if the feature or element may exist more than once.

[0094] Furthermore, in this specification, the terms “preferably,” “more preferably,” “particularly,” “more especially,” “specifically,” “more specifically,” or similar terms are used in combination with any feature without limiting substitutability. Accordingly, features introduced by these terms are arbitrary features and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims in any way. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the present invention may be carried out using alternative features. Similarly, features introduced by “in embodiments of the present invention” or similar expressions are intended to be arbitrary features, without any limitation on alternative embodiments of the present invention, without any limitation on the scope of the present invention, and without any limitation on the possibility of combining such introduced features with any other features or non-arbitrary features of the present invention.

[0095] In summary, without precluding further possible embodiments, the following embodiments are envisioned:

[0096] Embodiment 1 A spectrometer device for acquiring spectral information relating to at least one object, the following: i. At least one light source that generates illumination light for illuminating an object, the light source comprising at least one light-emitting diode and at least one light-emitting material for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode into secondary light, wherein the illumination light comprises at least partially primary light and secondary light; ii. At least one broadband detector that detects detection light from an object in a spectral range that includes at least partially the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light, wherein the broadband detector is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light in the spectral range of primary light, and further configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light in the spectral range of secondary light; and iii. At least one evaluation unit for evaluating the primary and secondary detector signals generated by a broadband detector, determining the temperature information of the light source from either the primary or secondary detector signal, and deriving the spectral information of the object from the other of the primary or secondary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information of the light source. A spectrometer device, including a spectrometer.

[0097] Embodiment 2 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the evaluation unit is configured to determine the temperature information of the light source from the primary detector signal, and to determine the spectral information of the object from the secondary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information of the light source determined from the primary detector signal.

[0098] "Embodiment 3" The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the evaluation unit is configured to determine the temperature information of the light source from the secondary detector signal, and to determine the spectral information of the object from the primary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information of the light source determined from the secondary detector signal.

[0099] Embodiment 4 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 3, wherein a light-emitting diode and a light-emitting material are thermally coupled.

[0100] Embodiment 5 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 4, wherein a temperature difference of 0.1K to 5K, particularly 0.1K to 1K, and more specifically 0.1K to 0.5K exists between the light-emitting diode and the light-emitting material during the operation of the light source.

[0101] Embodiment 6 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the broadband detector is configured to detect detected light from an object in a spectral range of 200 nm to 5 μm, preferably 300 nm to 3 μm, and more preferably 400 nm to 2.5 μm.

[0102] Embodiment 7 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the broadband detector includes a plurality of detection elements for detecting detected light in the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light.

[0103] Embodiment 8 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 7, wherein each detection element includes a photosensitive material selected from at least one of PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe.

[0104] Embodiment 9 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 7 or 8, wherein each detection element includes a photodiode, in particular a photodiode comprising at least one of Si, Ge, InGaAs, or ext.InGaAs.

[0105] Embodiment 10 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein the broadband detector is a single detector comprising a photosensitive material selected from at least one of PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe.

[0106] Embodiment 11 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the broadband detector is a single detector comprising a photodiode, particularly a photodiode comprising at least one of Si, Ge, InGaAs, or extended InGaAs.

[0107] Embodiment 12 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 11, further comprising at least one drive unit for electrically driving a light source, the drive unit being configured to drive a light-emitting diode at at least one drive frequency, the drive frequency being greater than the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material.

[0108] Embodiment 13 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 12, wherein the evaluation unit is configured to distinguish between a primary detector signal and a secondary detector signal by demodulating them using a Fourier transform, particularly a fast Fourier transform.

[0109] Embodiment 14 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 13, wherein the illumination light includes the portion of primary light generated by a light-emitting diode that is not converted into secondary light by a light-emitting material, and secondary light.

[0110] Embodiment 15 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the primary light is located at least partially in the spectral range of 380 nm to 1000 nm, more specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 940 nm, more specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 830 nm, and even more specifically in the spectral range of 440 nm to 830 nm.

[0111] Embodiment 16 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 15, wherein the primary light that is not converted into secondary light by the light-emitting material is at least partially in the spectral range of 380 nm to 1000 nm, specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 940 nm, more specifically in the spectral range of 420 nm to 830 nm, and even more specifically in the spectral range of 440 nm to 830 nm.

[0112] Embodiment 17 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 16, wherein the secondary light is located at least partially in a spectral range of 1 μm to 5 μm, specifically in a spectral range of 1.5 μm to 3 μm, and more specifically in a spectral range of 1.5 μm to 2.5 μm.

[0113] Embodiment 18 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 17, wherein the light source includes a phosphor light-emitting diode.

[0114] Embodiment 19 The spectrometer apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 18, further comprising at least one wavelength-selective element, wherein the wavelength-selective element is arranged to generate at least one primary detector signal when a broadband detector detects detected light within the spectral range of primary light, and to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detected light within the spectral range of secondary light.

[0115] Embodiment 20 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 19, wherein the wavelength-selective element includes at least one of a wavelength-selective element arranged in the optical path of illumination light or a wavelength-selective element arranged in the optical path of detection light.

[0116] Embodiment 21 The spectrometer apparatus according to embodiment 19 or 20, wherein the wavelength-selective element is selected from at least one of a wavelength-tunable wavelength-selective element or a wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum.

[0117] Embodiment 22 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 21, wherein the wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum includes at least one filter element, more specifically at least one absorption filter element, and more specifically a bandpass filter element.

[0118] Embodiment 23 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 21 or 22, wherein the wavelength-tunable wavelength-selective element includes at least one wavelength-tunable interferometer, specifically at least one of a MEMS Fabry-Perot interferometer and a MEMS Michelson interferometer.

[0119] Embodiment 24 A method for obtaining spectral information about at least one object, comprising the following steps: a) Providing at least one spectrometer apparatus as described in any one of Embodiments 1 to 23; b) A step of illuminating an object with illumination light generated by a light source, wherein the light source includes at least one light-emitting diode and at least one light-emitting material for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode into secondary light, and the illumination light includes at least partially primary light and secondary light; c) A step of detecting detection light from an object using at least one broadband detector in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral range of primary light and the spectral range of secondary light, wherein the broadband detector is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of primary light, and is configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light within the spectral range of secondary light; and d) Using an evaluation unit, evaluate the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector, determine the temperature information of the light source from either the primary or secondary detector signal, and derive spectral information about the object from the other of the primary or secondary detector signal, taking the temperature information of the light source into consideration. A method that includes this.

[0120] Embodiment 25 The method according to Embodiment 24, wherein step d) includes determining the temperature information of the light source from the primary detector signal and determining the spectral information of the object from the secondary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information of the light source determined from the primary detector signal.

[0121] Embodiment 26 The method according to Embodiment 24 or 25, wherein step d) includes determining the temperature information of the light source from the secondary detector signal and determining the spectral information of the object from the primary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information of the light source determined from the secondary detector signal.

[0122] Embodiment 27 A spectrometer apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 23, wherein a light-emitting diode and a light-emitting material are thermally bonded.

[0123] Embodiment 28 The spectrometer apparatus according to Embodiment 27, wherein thermal coupling provides a temperature difference of 0.1K to 5K, particularly 0.1K to 1K, specifically 0.1K to 0.5K, between the light-emitting diode and the light-emitting material during the operation of the light source.

[0124] Embodiment 29 The spectrometer apparatus further includes at least one drive unit for electrically driving a light source, the method in particular comprising, in step b), driving a light-emitting diode with the drive unit at at least one drive frequency, wherein the drive frequency is higher than the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material, according to any one of embodiments 24 to 26.

[0125] "Embodiment 30" The method according to Embodiment 29, wherein the evaluation in step d) includes distinguishing between the primary detector signal and the secondary detector signal by demodulation using a Fourier transform, particularly the fast Fourier transform.

[0126] "Embodiment 31" The method according to any one of embodiments 24, ~26, 29, and 30, wherein in step b), a pulse train having a high frequency is used for the individual pulses generated by the light-emitting diode, but a lower frequency is used for the pulse package applied to the light-emitting material.

[0127] Embodiment 32 The method according to Embodiment 31, wherein the distinction between the primary detector signal and the secondary detector signal is, in particular in step c), frequency multiplexing of the coupled detector signal generated by a single broadband detector, and the coupled detector signal includes both the primary and secondary detector signals.

[0128] "Embodiment 33" A method that is at least partially implemented by computer, the method according to any one of embodiments 24, ~26, 29 and 30~32, wherein at least step d) applies in particular.

[0129] Embodiment 34 A computer program that includes instructions causing the spectrometer to perform at least steps b) through d) of a method according to an embodiment relating to the method, when the program is executed by the spectrometer in accordance with any of the above embodiments relating to the spectrometer.

[0130] Embodiment 35 A computer-readable storage medium, specifically a non-temporary computer-readable medium, which, when a command is executed by a spectrometer device according to an embodiment relating to a spectrometer device, includes a command causing a method to perform at least steps b) through d) according to an embodiment relating to a method. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0131] Further optional features and embodiments are disclosed in more detail in conjunction with the following descriptions of embodiments, preferably dependent claims, where each optional feature can be realized individually or in any feasible combination, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. The scope of the present invention is not limited by preferred embodiments. Embodiments are schematically shown in the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or functionally equivalent elements. [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a spectrometer apparatus. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the light source. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for acquiring spectral information about at least one object. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the spectral response of the broadband detector. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows a diagram of pulse width modulation. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0132] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a spectrometer device 110 for acquiring spectral information about at least one object 112. The spectrometer device 110 may include multiple components as shown in Figure 1. The possible components of the spectrometer device 110 and their interactions will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 1. The spectrometer device 110 includes at least one light source 114 that generates illumination light 116 for illuminating the object 112. The light source 114 may be at least one of a tunable light source, a light source having at least one fixed emission wavelength, and a broadband light source. In particular, the light source 114 may be at least one electric light source, or may include at least one electric light source. The light source 114 includes at least one light-emitting diode 118 and at least one light-emitting material 120 for optical conversion of the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode 118 into secondary light. As an example, the light-emitting diode 118 may include one or more of self-luminous light-emitting diodes (LEDs), superluminescent light-emitting diodes (sLEDs), and laser diodes (LLEDs).

[0133] The LED 118 may, in particular, include at least two semiconductor material layers 121, and may be configured such that light is generated at at least one interface between the at least two semiconductor material layers 121, particularly by the recombination of positive and negative charges. The at least two semiconductor material layers 121 may have different electrical properties; for example, at least one layer may be an n-type doped semiconductor material 121 and at least one layer may be a p-type doped semiconductor material 121. Thus, as an example, the LED 118 may include at least one pn junction and / or at least one pin configuration. However, it should be noted that other device structures are also possible.

[0134] The light-emitting diode 118 may generate primary light (also called "pump light"). This primary light may then be converted into "secondary light" using, for example, photoconversion via one or more light-emitting materials 120 such as phosphor materials. Therefore, at least one light-emitting material 120 can form at least one converter, also called a photoconverter, which converts primary light into secondary light having different spectral characteristics from the primary light. Specifically, the spectral width of the secondary light may be wider than that of the primary light, and / or the center wavelength of the secondary light may be shifted (especially redshifted) compared to the primary light. Specifically, at least one light-emitting material 120 may absorb in the ultraviolet and / or blue spectral region and emit light in the near-infrared and / or infrared spectral region. The illumination light 116 includes at least partially primary light and secondary light. Specifically, the illumination light 116 may include the portion of the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode 118 that was not converted into secondary light due to reasons such as low conversion efficiency by the light-emitting material 120, and the secondary light.

[0135] As shown in Figure 1, the light source 114 may specifically include a phosphor light-emitting diode 122, also known as a phosphor LED 122. The phosphor LED 122 may be a combination of at least one light-emitting diode 118 configured to generate primary light or pump light, and at least one light-emitting material 120 (also called a "phosphor") configured to convert the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode 118 into light. The phosphor LED 122 may also form a packaged LED light source, which includes an LED die 124, such as a blue LED emitting blue pump light, and a phosphor, the phosphor for example, completely or partially covering the LED 118, and the LED 118 is configured to convert, for example, primary light or blue light into light with different spectral characteristics, specifically near-infrared light. Figure 2 shows a detailed diagram of the light source 114 embodied as a phosphor LED 122.

[0136] In general, the light source 114 can be embodied in various ways. For example, as shown in Figure 1, the light source 114 can be provided as part of the spectrometer apparatus 110 within the housing 126 of the spectrometer apparatus 110. However, alternatively or additionally, at least one light source 114 can be placed outside the housing 126, for example, as a separate light source 114 (not shown). The light source 114 can be placed separately from the object 112, as shown in Figure 1, and can illuminate the object 112 from a distance. In this way, the light-emitting diode 118 and the light-emitting material 120 may be thermally coupled, generally as indicated by reference numeral 127. In other words, during the operation of the light source 114, a temperature difference of 0.1K to 5K, particularly 0.1K to 1K, and more specifically 0.1K to 0.5K may occur between the light-emitting diode 118 and the light-emitting material 120. As a result, a single temperature contained in the light source 114 can be assigned to both the light-emitting diode 118 and the light-emitting body 120 at a given power spectral density of primary and secondary light.

[0137] The illumination light 116 generated by the light source 114 may propagate from the light source 114 to the object 112. In Figure 1, the illumination light 116 generated by the light source 114 and propagating to the object 112 is indicated by an arrow. The object 112 may include, in particular, at least one sample that is analyzed completely or partially by spectroscopy.

[0138] As is clear from Figure 1, the spectrometer apparatus 110 further comprises at least one broadband detector 128 configured to detect detection light 130 from the object 112 in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light. The light propagating from the light source 114 to the object 112 may be referred to as illumination light 116, while the light propagating from the object 112 to the broadband detector 128 may be referred to as "detection light" 130. In Figure 1, the detection light 130 is indicated by an arrow. The detection light 130 may include at least one of the illumination light 116 reflected by the subject 112, the illumination light 116 scattered by the subject 112, the illumination light 116 transmitted by the subject 112, and the emitted light generated by the subject 112, such as phosphorescence or fluorescence generated by the object 112 after optical, electrical, or acoustic excitation of the object 112 by the illumination light 116, etc. Therefore, the detection light 130 may be generated directly or indirectly through the illumination of the object 112 by the illumination light 116.

[0139] The broadband detector 128 is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light 130 in the spectral range of primary light. The broadband detector 128 is further configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light 130 in the spectral range of secondary light. For example, the broadband detector 128 may include a plurality of detection elements 132, such as an array of photosensitive elements, for detecting detection light 130 in the spectral range of primary light and the spectral range of secondary light. The broadband detector 128 may include a pixelated broadband detector including a plurality of photosensitive pixels or elements, as described above. For example, the broadband detector 128 may include at least one first detection element 131 for detecting detection light 130 in the spectral range of primary light and at least one second detection element 133 for detecting detection light 130 in the spectral range of secondary light. Specifically, the first detection element 131 may be configured to generate a primary detector signal when it detects detection light 130 in the spectral range of primary light. The second detection element 133 may be configured to generate a secondary detector signal when it detects detection light 130 in the spectral range of second-order light. Each detection element 131, 133 may include a photosensitive material selected from at least PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe. Alternatively, the broadband detector 128 may be a single detector 134 containing a photosensitive material selected from at least PbS, PbSe, InSb, or HgCdTe. As yet another alternative, the broadband detector 128 may be a single detector 134 having a photodiode, in particular a photodiode containing a material selected from at least one of Si, Ge, InGaAs, or extended InGaAs. In Figure 1, reference numerals 132 and 134 are used together to indicate the arrangement of multiple detector elements 132 and a single detector 134 in the spectrometer apparatus 110, although the spectrometer apparatus 110 may comprise multiple detector elements 132 in one embodiment and a single detector 134 in another embodiment.

[0140] The broadband detector 128 may be configured to generate electrical signals in response to the intensity of incident light. In particular, these electrical signals may be supplied to the evaluation unit 136 of the spectrometer device 110, as will be described later.

[0141] The spectrometer apparatus 110 includes at least one evaluation unit 136 for evaluating at least one of the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector 128, and for determining spectral information about the object 112 from at least one of the primary and secondary detector signals. The broadband detector 128 can provide the detector signal directly or indirectly to the evaluation unit 136. Therefore, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 1, the broadband detector 128 and the evaluation unit 136 may be connected directly or indirectly. The detector signal is used as a "raw" detector signal and / or may be processed or preprocessed before further use, for example, by filtering. Therefore, the broadband detector 128 may include at least one processing unit and / or at least one preprocessing unit (e.g., at least one of an amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, an electrical filter, or a Fourier transform device).

[0142] As shown in Figure 1, the spectrometer apparatus 110 may further include at least one drive unit 138 for electrically driving the light source 114. The drive unit 138 may be configured to supply current to the LED 118, and specifically to control the current flowing through the LED 118. Here, as an example, the drive unit 138 may be configured to adjust and measure the voltage supplied to the LED 118, which is required to supply a specific current to the LED 118. Specifically, the drive unit 138 may include one or more current sources 140, voltage sources, current measuring devices (such as ampere meters), voltage measuring devices 142 (such as voltmeters), and power measuring devices. Specifically, the drive unit 138 may include at least one current source 140 for supplying at least one predetermined current to the LED 118, and this current source 140 is configured to adjust or control the voltage applied to the LED 118 to generate the predetermined current. The drive unit 138 may, as an example, include one or more electrical components (e.g., integrated circuits) for driving the light source 114. The drive unit 138 may be fully or partially integrated with the light source 114, or it may be separated from the light source 114, the latter configuration of which is shown in Figure 1.

[0143] If the broadband detector 128 is a single detector 134, the drive unit 138 may be included in the spectrometer apparatus 110 in particular. However, the spectrometer apparatus 110 may also include the drive unit 138 in other embodiments of the broadband detector 128. The drive unit 138 may be configured to drive the light-emitting diode 118 at at least one drive frequency. The drive frequency may be set to exceed the reciprocal of the attenuation constant τ of the light-emitting material 120 in particular. Furthermore, the evaluation unit 136 may be configured to distinguish between the primary detector signal and the secondary detector signal by demodulation using a Fourier transform, particularly the fast Fourier transform. Thus, the spectrometer apparatus 110 may be configured to perform pulse width modulation of the light source 114 using the drive unit 138. As shown in Figure 5 below, pulse width modulation can be achieved using a pulse train.

[0144] As described above, as shown in Figure 1, the spectrometer apparatus 110 includes at least one evaluation unit 136 for evaluating at least one of the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector 128 and for deriving spectral information about the object 112 from at least one of the primary and secondary detector signals. Specifically, the evaluation unit 136 may be configured to evaluate both the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector 128. As described above, a particular advantage of the thermal coupling 127 between the light-emitting diode 118 and the light-emitting material 120 is that it is possible to determine the single temperature of the light source 114 as temperature information 137 from the primary detector signal, where the temperature information 137 including the pre-determined single temperature of the light source 114 is determined simultaneously. Alternatively, the temperature information 137 including the single temperature of the light source 114, subsequently determined in this manner, is used to derive spectral information about the object 112 from the secondary detector signal, thereby taking into account the temperature information 137 regarding the single temperature of the light source 114. Alternatively, or additionally, the temperature information 137 relating to the single temperature of the light source 114 can be determined from the secondary detector signal, while the spectral information relating to the object can be derived from the primary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information 137 relating to the single temperature of the light source 114 determined from the secondary detector signal. In this way, the heat generated by both the light-emitting diode 118 and the light-emitting material 120 during the operation of the light source 114 can be determined and used to correct the spectral information of the object.

[0145] The evaluation unit 136 may be one or more integrated circuits, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or one or more data processing devices 144 (e.g., one or more computers, digital signal processing devices (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), preferably one or more microcomputers and / or microcontrollers), or may include them. It may also include additional components, such as one or more preprocessing devices 146 and / or data acquisition devices (e.g., one or more devices that receive and / or preprocess detector signals, e.g., one or more A / D converters and / or one or more filters). Furthermore, the evaluation unit 136 may include one or more data storage devices 148, as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, the evaluation unit 136 may include one or more interfaces, e.g., one or more wireless interfaces and / or one or more wired interfaces.

[0146] The spectrometer apparatus 110 may further include one or more optical components 150, for example, one or more mirrors, one or more lenses, one or more apertures, and one or more wavelength-selective elements 152. The wavelength-selective elements 152 may be arranged to generate at least one primary detector signal when the broadband detector 128 detects detection light 130 within the spectral range of primary light, and to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light 130 within the spectral range of secondary light. As shown in Figure 1, wavelength selection by at least one wavelength-selective element 152 may also occur in at least one optical path of illumination light 116, thereby selecting and / or changing the wavelength of illumination for the subject 112, and / or selecting and / or changing the detection wavelength in the detection optical path of detection light 130, for example, for the broadband detector 128 as a whole and / or for each detector element 131, 133. The wavelength-selective element 152 may include at least one of the wavelength-selective element 152 positioned in the optical path of the illumination light 116, or the wavelength-selective element 152 positioned in the optical path of the detection light 130. Specifically, the wavelength-selective element 152 may be selected from at least one of a tunable wavelength-selective element or a wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum.

[0147] For example, the wavelength-selective element 152 may be placed in the detection optical path of the detection light 130. The wavelength-selective element 152 may be configured to guide the detection light 130 in the spectral range of the primary light to the first detection element 131 constituting the broadband detector 128, thereby allowing the broadband detector 128 to detect the detection light 130 in the spectral range of the primary light and generate a primary detector signal. The wavelength-selective element 152 may further be configured to guide the detection light 130 in the spectral range of the secondary light to a second detector element 133 included in the broadband detector 128. As a result, the broadband detector 128 detects the detection light 130 in the spectral range of the secondary light and thus generates a secondary detector signal. Alternatively, as described above, the broadband detector 128 may be a single detector 134 and the wavelength-selective element 152 may be tunable, in which case the spectral range detected by the broadband detector 128 can be adjusted.

[0148] The spectrometer apparatus 110, schematically shown in Figure 1, is configured to acquire spectral information relating to at least one object 112. In particular, the spectrometer apparatus 110 may be configured to acquire information items characterizing at least one optical property of the object 112 relating to at least one object 112 and / or radiation emitted from the object 112, more specifically, information items characterizing at least one of the transmission, absorption, reflection, and emission of the object 112, for example, information items qualitatively and / or quantitatively characterizing at least one of the transmission, absorption, reflection, and emission of the object 112. For example, the at least one spectral information may include at least one intensity information, for example, information relating to the intensity of light transmitted, absorbed, reflected, or emitted by the object 112, for example, as a function of wavelength or wavelength subrange over one or more wavelengths, for example, over a wavelength range. Thus, the spectrometer apparatus 110 may be configured to acquire at least one spectrum, or a portion of a spectrum, of the detected light 130 propagating from the object 112 to the broadband detector 128. The spectrum may be described, for example, as a wavelength function of the detected light 130, in radiative measurement units (e.g., watts per nanometer (W / nm)) or other units of the spectral flux. Thus, the spectrum can describe the optical power of the light in a specific wavelength band (e.g., NIR spectral range). The spectrum may include one or more optical variables as a function of wavelength, such as power spectral density, electrical signals derived by optical measurements, etc. The spectrum may particularly include the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light. The spectrometer device 110 is particularly portable, for example, part of a mobile device, or can be attached to a mobile device such as a notebook computer, tablet, mobile phone (e.g., smartphone), smartwatch, and / or wearable computer (not shown in Figure 1).

[0149] Figure 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the light source 114. At least one light source 114 of the spectrometer apparatus 110 may be configured to generate or supply electromagnetic radiation in one or more of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectral ranges. Since the material properties and chemical composition of many objects 112 can be derived from the near-infrared spectral region, the light used in typical applications of the present invention is light in the infrared (IR) spectral region, more preferably near-infrared (NIR) and / or mid-infrared (MidIR) spectral region, particularly light with wavelengths of 1 μm to 5 μm, preferably 1 μm to 3 μm. The light source 114 includes at least one light-emitting diode 118 and at least one light-emitting material 120 for photoconverting the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode 118. The LED 118 and the phosphor material 120 may together form a phosphor LED 122, as described above.

[0150] The phosphor LED 122 shown in Figure 2 may include one or more functional components. Specifically, the phosphor LED 122 may include one or more substrates 154, in particular one or more electrically insulating substrates 154. In particular, as shown in Figure 2, the phosphor LED 122 may include one or more ceramic substrates 156. The substrate 154 may be configured to hold at least one LED die 124 and at least one light-emitting material 120. Furthermore, at least one substrate 154 may hold or include at least one electrically connectable component, such as at least one contact pad 158 and / or at least one electrical lead (e.g., at least one metal contact and / or at least one metal lead), as shown in Figure 2. The substrate 154 may be configured to function as a heat sink. Heat may be generated in the LED die 124, for example due to the limited efficiency of the conversion from electrical energy to photon energy, and also in the light-emitting material 120, for example during the conversion process. The heat may be dissipated in the substrate 154, which is, for example, a ceramic substrate.

[0151] As shown in Figure 2, the phosphor LED 122 may include a light-emitting diode 118. The light-emitting diode 118 may be configured to convert an electrical current into primary light, such as blue primary light, using at least one LED chip and / or at least one LED die 124, as shown in Figure 2. Specifically, a pn diode may be used. For example, one or more LEDs 118 selected from indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based LEDs 118, GaN based LEDs 118, InGaN / GaN alloy based LEDs 118, combinations thereof, and / or other LEDs 118 may be used. Additionally, or instead, quantum well LEDs 118 may also be used, for example, one or more InGaN-based quantum well LEDs 118 may be used. Additionally, or instead, superluminescent LEDs (sLEDs) and / or quantum cascade lasers may be used. As is more apparent from Figure 2, the phosphor LED may include at least one light-emitting material 120 configured to optically convert the primary light produced by the light-emitting diode 118. Various types of conversion and / or emission are known and can be used in the context of the present invention. Specifically, the luminescent material 120 may include at least one of the following: cerium-doped YAG (YAG:Ce 3+ , or Y3Al5O 12 :Ce 3+ ); Rare earth-added sialon; copper and aluminum-added zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu,Al).

[0152] The light-emitting material 120 can form at least one layer. In general, various alternatives for arranging the light-emitting material 120 relative to the light-emitting diode 118 can be realized individually or in combination. Firstly, at least one layer of the light-emitting material 120, such as a phosphor, can be directly arranged on the light-emitting diode 118. This configuration is, for example, one in which no material is sandwiched between the LED 118 and the phosphor material 120, or one or more transparent materials (particularly materials transparent to primary light) are sandwiched between the LED and the phosphor material 120. Thus, as an example, a coating of the light-emitting material 120 can be placed directly or indirectly on the LED 118 (not shown). Additionally, or instead, the light-emitting material 120 can form, for example, at least one transducer body 160 (also referred to as at least one transducer disk or transducer plate). The transducer body 160 can be placed on the LED 118, for example, by attaching the transducer body 160 to the LED 118 with adhesive, as shown in Figure 2. Additionally, or alternatively, the light-emitting material 120 may be remotely positioned, in which case the primary light from the LED 118 must pass through an intermediate optical path before reaching the light-emitting material 120 (not shown). For example, in a remote position, the light-emitting material 120 may form a solid body such as a disk or converter disk, or a converter body 160. One or more optical elements, such as lenses, prisms, diffraction gratings, mirrors, apertures, or combinations thereof, may be placed in the intermediate optical path. Specifically, an optical system with image-forming properties can be placed between the LED 118 and the light-emitting material 120 in the intermediate optical path. This allows, for example, the primary light to be focused or bundled onto the converter body 160.

[0153] In a light source 114, and more specifically in a phosphor LED 122, at least one light-emitting material 120 can be positioned relative to the light-emitting diode 118 so that heat transfer from the light-emitting diode 118 to the light-emitting diode 118 is possible. More specifically, the light-emitting material 120 is positioned so that heat transfer is possible by either thermal radiation or thermal conduction, or both (more preferably by thermal conduction). Thus, as an example, as shown in Figure 2, the light-emitting material 120 can maintain thermal and / or physical contact with the light-emitting diode 118. This generally allows the temperature of the light-emitting material 120 and the temperature of the light-emitting diode 118 to be synchronized.

[0154] As shown in Figure 2, the light source 114, particularly the phosphor LED 122, may include further components such as at least one side coat 162 covering at least one side (e.g., top, bottom, and / or at least one or more sides). Specifically, the side coat 162 may cover gaps and / or voids that may exist in the laminated structure of the light source 114 as shown in Figure 2. Further components of the light source 114, in particular components not shown in Figure 2, are feasible. In general, the light source 114, particularly the phosphor LED 122, may be enclosed in a single housing (not shown in Figure 2) or not. Thus, the LED 118 and at least one light-emitting material 120 for converting the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode 118 may be housed in a common housing in particular. However, alternatively, the LED 118 may be an unhousing or bare LED 118, as shown in Figure 2.

[0155] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for acquiring spectral information about at least one object 112. This method includes the following steps, which may be performed in a predetermined order. However, different orders are also possible. In particular, one, more, or all method steps may be performed once or repeatedly. Furthermore, the method steps may be performed sequentially, or one or more method steps may be performed in overlapping or parallel manner, and / or in combination. This method may also include additional method steps not described.

[0156] This method includes the following steps: a) A step of providing at least one spectrometer apparatus 110 according to the present invention (referred to as reference no. 164), for example, according to the embodiment in Figure 1, and / or any other embodiment disclosed herein; b) A step of irradiating an object 112 with illumination light 116 generated by a light source 114 (referred to as reference number 166), wherein the light source 114 includes at least one light-emitting diode 118 and at least one light-emitting material 120 for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode 118 into secondary light, wherein the illumination light 116 includes at least partially primary light and secondary light; c) A step of detecting detection light 130 from an object 112 in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light, using at least one broadband detector 128 (referred to as reference no. 168), wherein the broadband detector 128 is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal by detecting the detection light 130 in the spectral range of primary light, and the broadband detector 128 is configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when detecting the detection light 130 in the spectral range of secondary light; and d) Using the evaluation unit 136 (indicated by reference number 170), evaluate the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector 128, determine the temperature information of the light source 114 from either the primary or secondary detector signal, and derive the spectral information of the object 112 from the other of the primary or secondary detector signal, taking into account the temperature information of the light source 114.

[0157] Step d) may include evaluating the primary detector signal generated by the broadband detector 128, determining the temperature information 137 of the light source 114 from the primary detector signal, and determining the spectral information of the object 112 from the secondary detector signal. In this case, the temperature information 137 of the light source 114 determined from the primary detector signal is taken into consideration. Alternatively, or in addition, step d) may include determining the temperature information 137 of the light source 114 from the secondary detector signal, and determining the spectral information of the object 112 from the primary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information 137 of the light source 114 determined from the secondary detector signal.

[0158] As described above, the spectrometer apparatus 110 may further include at least one drive unit 138 for electrically driving the light source 114. Specifically, step b) may include driving the light-emitting diode 118 at at least one drive frequency using the drive unit 138. The drive frequency may be higher than the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material 120. Specifically, this mode of operation of the light source 114 is also called pulse width modulation. The evaluation in step d) may include distinguishing between the primary detector signal and the secondary detector signal by demodulation using a Fourier transform, particularly the fast Fourier transform. As shown in Figure 5 below, the light-emitting diode 118 can be modulated using a pulse train, specifically the drive unit 138.

[0159] Figure 4 shows a spectral sensitivity characteristic diagram of an exemplary broadband detector 128. Specifically, the diagram in Figure 4 shows the spectral sensitivity expressed as a function of normalized signal intensity 172 (in arbitrary units) with respect to wavelength 174. As can be seen from Figure 4, the broadband detector 128 may be configured to detect detection light 130 from the object 112 in a spectral range from 1000 nm to 3000 nm.

[0160] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of pulse width modulation. Specifically, in the schematic diagram of Figure 5, the drive pulse applied to the light-emitting diode 118 (indicated by reference number 186) and the resulting secondary light pulse (indicated by reference number 188) are shown in the time domain. As shown in Figure 6, the light-emitting diode 118 can be subjected to a pulse train 190 having a drive frequency exceeding the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material 120, specifically using a drive unit 138. Since the excitation LED 118 may be faster than the light-emitting material 120, the secondary light pulse may not keep up with the high-speed drive of the LED 118. Therefore, the pulse shape applied to the excitation LED 118 is selected so that the frequency domain information obtained from the fast Fourier transform provides spectral information from both the primary and secondary detector signals using a single detector 134.

[0161] As schematically shown in Figure 5, the pulse train 190 contains a continuous pulse train, with individual pulses 192 being high-frequency, while the pulse package 194 is low-frequency, particularly to excite at least one substance irradiated by the pulse train 190. In particular, the high-frequency train of individual pulses 192 is modulated by the low frequency of the pulse package 194, which can be represented by the modulation frequency f1. As described above, the converter time constant τ g and τ d By using (where τ g The growth time constant is τ d (where represents the decay time constant), the modulation frequency f1 can be expressed in particular by equation (3) as follows:

[0162]

number

[0163] A notable advantage is that the pulse train 190 enables the simultaneous provision of primary light with high frequencies from individual pulses 192 generated by the light-emitting diodes 118 and secondary light with a low modulation frequency f1 from the pulse package 194. Here, the low modulation frequency f1 of the pulse package is selected so that the light-emitting material 120 can follow the excitation by the pulse package 194 provided by the pulse train. Here, frequency multiplexing makes it possible to distinguish between the primary and secondary detector signals generated by a single detector 134. In this way, temperature information 137 related to the light source 114 can be determined, and at the same time, spectral information about the object 112 can be derived from the detector signal generated by the single detector 134, taking into account the temperature information related to the light source 114. [Explanation of symbols]

[0164] 110 Spectrometer equipment 112 Object 114 Light source 116 Illumination light 118 Light-emitting diodes 120 Luminescent Materials 121 Semiconductor Materials 122 Phosphorous light-emitting diodes 124 LED Dies 126 Housing 127 Thermal coupling 128 Broadband detectors 130 detection light 131 First detection elements 132 Multiple detection elements 133 Second detection element 134 Single detector 136 evaluation units 137 Temperature information 138 Drive Unit 140 Current source 142 Voltage measuring device 144 Data Processing Devices 146 Pre-treatment device 148 Data Storage Devices 150 Optical components (optical elements) 152 wavelength selective element 154 circuit boards 156 Ceramic substrate 158 Contact Pads 160 Converter Unit 162 Side Court 164 Provision of Spectrometer Equipment 166 Illumination of the object 168 Detection of detected light 170 Evaluation of at least one of the primary detector signal and the secondary detector signal 172 Normalized signal strength 174 wavelength 186 drive pulses 188 Secondary light pulse 190 pulse train 192 individual pulses 194 pulse package

Claims

1. A spectrometer device (110) for acquiring spectral information relating to at least one object (112), comprising the following components: i. At least one light source (114) for generating illumination light (116) for illuminating an object (112), comprising at least one light-emitting diode (118) and at least one light-emitting material (120) for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode (118) into secondary light, wherein the illumination light (116) comprises at least partially primary light and secondary light; ii. At least one broadband detector (128) for detecting detection light (130) from an object (112) in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral range of primary light and the spectral range of secondary light, wherein the broadband detector (128) is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light (130) within the spectral range of primary light, and further configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light (130) within the spectral range of secondary light, and iii. At least one evaluation unit (136) for evaluating a primary detector signal and a secondary detector signal generated by a broadband detector (128), determining temperature information (137) relating to a light source (114) from either the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal, and deriving spectral information relating to an object (112) from the other of the primary detector signal or the secondary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information (137) relating to the light source (114), A spectrometer apparatus (110) including a spectrometer.

2. The evaluation unit (136) is, - Determine temperature information (137) relating to the light source (114) from the primary detector signal, and determine spectral information of the object (112) from the secondary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information (137) relating to the light source (114) determined from the primary detector signal; or - Determine temperature information (137) related to the light source (114) from the secondary detector signal, and determine spectral information of the object (112) from the primary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information (137) related to the light source (114) determined from the secondary detector signal. A spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1, configured as described above.

3. A spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a light-emitting diode (118) and a light-emitting material (120) are thermally coupled.

4. The spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the broadband detector (128) is configured to detect detection light (130) from an object (112) in a spectral range of 200 nm to 5 μm, preferably 300 nm to 3 μm, and more preferably 400 nm to 2.5 μm.

5. The broadband detector (128) is - A plurality of detection elements (132) for detecting detection light (130) in the spectral range of primary and secondary light, each detection element (132) including a photosensitive material or a photodiode; or - A single detector (134) comprising a photosensitive material or a photodiode, A spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 5, wherein the evaluation unit (136) is configured to distinguish between a primary detector signal and a secondary detector signal by frequency multiplexing of a composite detector signal generated by a single detector (134), and the composite detector signal includes a primary detector signal and a secondary detector signal.

7. The spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising at least one drive unit (138) for electrically driving the light source (114), wherein the drive unit (138) is configured to drive the light-emitting diode (118) at at least one drive frequency, and the drive frequency is configured to be greater than the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material (120).

8. The spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the primary light is at least partially located in the spectral range of 380 nm to 1000 nm, and the secondary light is at least partially located in the spectral range of 1 μm to 5 μm.

9. The spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light source (114) includes a phosphor light-emitting diode (122).

10. The spectrometer apparatus (110) further comprises at least one wavelength-selective element (152), wherein the wavelength-selective element (152) is arranged such that a broadband detector (128) generates at least one primary detector signal when the detection light (130) is detected in the spectral range of primary light, and the broadband detector (128) generates at least one secondary detector signal when the detection light (130) is detected in the spectral range of secondary light, according to claim 1 or 2.

11. A method for obtaining spectral information relating to at least one object (112), comprising the following steps: a) The step of preparing at least one spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2; b) A step of illuminating an object (112) with illumination light (116) generated by a light source (114), wherein the light source (114) includes at least one light-emitting diode (118) and at least one light-emitting material (120) for converting primary light generated by the light-emitting diode (118) into secondary light, and the illumination light (116) includes at least partially primary light and secondary light; c) A step of detecting detection light (130) from an object (112) using at least one broadband detector (128) in a spectral range that at least partially includes the spectral ranges of primary and secondary light, wherein the broadband detector (128) is configured to generate at least one primary detector signal when it detects detection light (130) within the spectral range of primary light, and the broadband detector (128) is configured to generate at least one secondary detector signal when it detects detection light (130) within the spectral range of secondary light; and d) Using an evaluation unit (136), evaluate the primary and secondary detector signals generated by the broadband detector (128), determine the temperature information (137) of the light source (114) from either the primary or secondary detector signal, and derive the spectral information of the object (112) from the other of the primary or secondary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information (137) of the light source (114). A method that includes this.

12. Step d) is to determine the following: - Determine temperature information (137) related to the light source from the primary detector signal, and then determine the spectral information of the object (112) from the secondary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information (137) related to the light source (114) determined from the primary detector signal; - Determine temperature information (137) related to the light source from the secondary detector signal, and determine spectral information of the object (114) from the primary detector signal, taking into consideration the temperature information (137) related to the light source (114) determined from the secondary detector signal. The method according to claim 11, including the method described in claim 11.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the light-emitting diode (118) and the light-emitting material (120) are thermally coupled.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the spectrometer apparatus (110) further comprises at least one drive unit (138) for electrically driving a light source (114), and the method further comprises, in particular in step b), driving a light-emitting diode (118) using the drive unit (138) at at least one drive frequency, the drive frequency being higher than the reciprocal of the time constant τ of the light-emitting material (120).

15. A computer program that includes instructions to cause the spectrometer apparatus (110) to perform at least steps b) through d) of the method according to claim 11 when the program is executed by the spectrometer apparatus (110) according to claim 1 or 2.

Images