Fourier transform spectrometer and fourier transform spectroscopic method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9442014-B2
Application number	US-201214009444-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2012
Priority date	Apr 5, 2011
Publication date	Sep 13, 2016
Grant date	Sep 13, 2016

Abstract

A Fourier transform spectrometer (Da) of the invention extracts, in generating an integrated interferogram obtained by integrating a plurality of interferograms, an output of an interferometer ( 11 a ) within a predetermined range according to positioning information of a center burst in an interferogram measured at a time before measurement of an interferogram at the present time.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A Fourier transform spectrometer, comprising:
an interferometer to which measurement light to be measured is incident, the interferometer comprising a plurality of optical elements which constitute two optical paths from an incident position of the measurement light to an interfering position of the measurement light, the plurality of the optical elements comprising an optical path length difference forming optical element structured to generate an optical path length difference between the two optical paths;
a spectrum computing section structured to obtain a spectrum of the measurement light by subjecting an integrated interferogram obtained by integrating a plurality of interferograms of the measurement light generated by the interferometer to a Fourier transform; and
a position detecting section comprising:
a position measuring light source structured to emit laser light; and
a light receiving part structured to receive interfering light of the laser light obtained by causing the laser light emitted from the position measuring light source to be incident onto the interferometer to thereby output a light intensity of the interfering light;
wherein the position detecting section is structured to detect a position of the optical path length difference forming optical element on the basis of the light intensity of the interfering light of the laser light output from the light receiving part; and
the optical path length difference forming optical element is structured to move in an optical axis direction by a resonant vibration in such a manner that an output from the light receiving part repeats a sinusoidal wave pattern in order to generate a plurality of interferograms of the measurement light;

wherein the spectrum computing section comprising:
an extracting section that, in extracting an output within a predetermined range from an output of the interferometer, is structured to set the predetermined range to be extracted according to positioning information of a center burst based on the position of the light path length difference forming optical element detected by the position detecting section in an interferogram of the measurement light measured at a time before measurement of an interferogram of the measurement light at a present time, and is structured to extract an output within the predetermined range from the output of the interferometer, for a measurement of each of the plurality of interferograms of the measurement light;
a retrieving section structured to retrieve measurement data having a same optical path length difference as each other from respective outputs within respective predetermined ranges extracted by the extracting section for integrating the plurality of the interferograms of the measurement light;
an integrating section structured to generate the integrated interferogram by summing up the measurement data having the same optical path length difference as each other retrieved by the retrieving section from the respective outputs within the respective predetermined ranges extracted by the extracting section for integrating the plurality of the interferograms of the measurement light; and
a computing section structured to obtain the spectrum of the measurement light by subjecting the integrated interferogram generated by the integrating section to the Fourier transform.

2. The Fourier transform spectrometer according to claim 1 , wherein
the positioning information to be used by the extracting section is a shift amount between a center burst position of an interferogram at a first measurement among measurements of the plurality of interferograms of the measurement light, and a center burst position of an interferogram at a measurement before the first measurement.

3. The Fourier transform spectrometer according to claim 1 , wherein
the retrieving section is structured to retrieve the measurement data having the same optical path length difference as each other by obtaining a maximum value having cross correlation from an output within a predetermined range extracted by the extracting section at a first measurement among measurements of the plurality of interferograms of the measurement light, and from an output within a predetermined range extracted by the extracting section at an n-th measurement (where n is a positive integer of 2 or larger).

4. The Fourier transform spectrometer according to claim 1 , wherein
the retrieving section is structured to retrieve the measurement data having the same optical path length difference as each other by obtaining a minimum value in a sum of squares of differences regarding measurement points from an output within a predetermined range extracted by the extracting section at a first measurement among measurements of the plurality of interferograms of the measurement light, and from an output within a predetermined range extracted by the extracting section at an n-th measurement (where n is a positive integer of 2 or larger).

5. The Fourier transform spectrometer according to claim 1 , wherein
the retrieving section is structured to retrieve the measurement data having the same optical path length difference as each other by obtaining a minimum value in a sum of absolute values of differences regarding measurement points from an output within a predetermined range extracted by the extracting section at a first measurement among measurements of the plurality of interferograms of the measurement light, and from an output within a predetermined range extracted by the extracting section at an n-th measurement (where n is a positive integer of 2 or larger).

6. The Fourier transform spectrometer according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a center burst position detecting section structured to detect a center burst position in an interferogram, in a case where an initial phase difference in each of wavelength components of the measurement light is zero on the basis of the output from the light receiving part, wherein
the laser light emitted from the position measuring light source is laser light having a predetermined line width;
the interferometer is a phase-difference interferometer actually having a phase difference between the two optical paths, in a case where the plurality of the optical elements are disposed in such a manner that the optical path length difference between the two optical paths becomes zero, assuming that the two optical paths are made of a same medium, and
the computing section in the spectrum computing section is structured to obtain the spectrum of the measurement light by subjecting the integrated interferogram to the Fourier transform, based on the center burst position detected by the center burst position detecting section.

7. The Fourier transform spectrometer according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined range to be extracted satisfies the following equation:

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Assignees

• Nagai Yoshiroh
• Kawano Toshio
• Konica Minolta Inc

Inventors

• Nagai Yoshiroh
• Kawano Toshio

Classifications

• G06F17/14

  Fourier, Walsh or analogous domain transformations {, e.g. Laplace, Hilbert, Karhunen-Loeve, transforms (for correlation function computation G06F17/156; spectrum analysers G01R23/16)} · CPC title

• G01J3/0208

  using focussing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or mirrors; performing aberration correction · CPC title

• G01J3/45 Primary

  Interferometric spectrometry · CPC title

• G01J3/021

  using plane or convex mirrors, parallel phase plates, or particular reflectors · CPC title

• G01J3/4535

  Devices with moving mirror (G01J3/4532 takes precedence) · CPC title