Photodiode array spectrometer
US4958928A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 14, 1989 |
| Grant date | Sep 25, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 14, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01J1/44
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A photodiode array spectrometer comprises an arry (40) of photosensitive elements for receiving a beam of light. Light impinging on a photodiode causes discharging of the associated capacitors. The capacitors are recharged periodically by a charge amplifier via a video line (30) by closing transfer switches (SW1, . . . , SW 768) associated with the photosensitive elements, repectively. The switches are group together in several segments which are independently addressable such that during a recharge scan only selected groups of photodioldes are recharged. The information which segments are to be sctivated, i.e. which groups of switches are to be closed, is contained in a segment control block (43). An integration control block (46) additionally permits to adjust the time intervals between successive recharge cycles separately for each selected segment. The invention permits to select regions of interest of the photodiode array for a specific application, whereas other regions are ignored for that application, leading to a reduced data rate with high spectral resolution and sensitivity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.