Spectrograph for evaluating contamination of optical components in space
US4815842A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 29, 1986 |
| Grant date | Mar 28, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 29, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2201/0415
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A monochromatic spectrometer for evaluating contamination changes in the surface condition of lenses, reflectors and similar optical samples in the vacuum of a space mission includes a vacuum ultraviolet beam source redirected from a dispersion grating through a test station and reflected from a mirror to a photodetector. A rotatable carrier supports two or more optical samples, both transmissive and reflective and selectively positions one sample at a time at the test station so that the selected sample modifies the VUV beam according to its surface condition. The mirror is movable from a first position in which it reflects the beam transmitted through a sample to second position in which it reflects the beam reflected from a sample. The sample condition measured by the photodetector, the position of the rotatable carrier and mission elapsed time are recorded in a memory for re-transmission or later read out.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.