Spectrometer Tailored Spectral Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spectroscopy systems sample light spectra at uniform wavelength intervals, which can lead to undersampling or oversampling of spectral oscillations, resulting in aliasing errors and reduced signal analysis efficiency, particularly for thick films or multilayer structures.
Innovation Solution
A spectrometer system with a dispersive element and a spectrum reshaping element, such as reflective or transmissive surfaces, that reshapes the spatially-dispersed spectrum to provide tailored spectral sampling based on photon energy intervals, ensuring approximately uniform sampling of spectral oscillations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If uniform wavelength interval sampling is used, then the spectroscopy system is simple to implement, but spectral oscillations are undersampled or oversampled causing aliasing errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating non-uniform spectral sampling where different regions of the spectrum are sampled at different intervals. The spectrum reshaping element selectively concentrates or disperses spectral components at specific locations, allowing uniform sampling of spectral oscillations in critical regions while using coarser sampling in less critical regions, thereby resolving the aliasing problem without requiring uniform fine sampling across the entire spectrum.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sampling parameter from uniform wavelength intervals to non-uniform wavelength intervals that are tailored to the spectral content. By modifying the spectral distribution function through the spectrum reshaping element, the sampling intervals are dynamically adjusted to match the oscillation frequency characteristics, ensuring adequate sampling density where oscillations are rapid while reducing sampling density where oscillations are slow.
2Reliability
If tailored spectral sampling is implemented, then spectral oscillations are uniformly sampled reducing aliasing errors, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a spectrum reshaping element as an intermediary component between the dispersive element and the detector. This intermediary actively modifies the spectral distribution to achieve the desired non-uniform sampling pattern, serving as a mediator that transforms the uniformly dispersed spectrum into a tailored distribution that matches the oscillation characteristics, thereby enabling reliable sampling without requiring complex detector arrangements.
3Productivity
If uniform wavelength sampling is used, then the detector design is simple, but signal analysis efficiency is reduced due to undersampling or oversampling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the spectral sampling configuration adaptive to the spectral content being measured. The spectrum reshaping element creates a dynamic sampling pattern that responds to the oscillation frequency characteristics of the spectral signal, allowing the system to optimize sampling efficiency for different spectral features rather than using a fixed uniform sampling approach.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides improved signal analysis by ensuring consistent sampling of spectral oscillations across a range, reducing aliasing errors and enhancing throughput, while maintaining accurate characterization of spectral properties.
Implementation Method 1
a dispersive element for spatially dispersing a spectrum of a light beam
Implementation Method 2
a spectrum reshaping element including at least one of a reflective surface or a transmissive surface for reshaping the spatially-dispersed spectrum
Implementation Method 3
a spectrum reshaping element including at least one of a reflective surface or a transmissive surface for reshaping the spatially-dispersed spectrum
Data Source
AI summary
A spectrometer for tailored spectral sampling includes a dispersive element for spatially dispersing a spectrum of a light beam, a detector including a plurality of pixels distributed along a sampling direction, and a spectrum reshaping element including at least one of a reflective surface or a transmissive surface for reshaping the spatially-dispersed spectrum of the light beam from the dispersive element along the sampling direction to provide a selected distribution of the spectrum to the detector. The detector may spatially sample the spectrum of incident light with the plurality of pixels at selected spectral intervals based on the selected distribution of the spectrum.