Method and apparatus for detecting scattered light in an analytical instrument
US5872627A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 30, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 30, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2201/0633
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A light scatter detector assembly for an analytical instrument, such as a laser flow cytometer or clinical hematology instrument having at least two angles of scatter. A high numerical aperture lens system is used, preferably a system using only two lenses to collect light after interacting with suspended particles passing through a flow cell into a collimated beam. A dark stop having apertures in different locations is interposed in the collimated beam light detected to produce therefrom two optical beams, respectively corresponding to the two scatter signals, e.g., high angle scatter and low angle scatter. The apertures are preferably radial sectors. The two scatter beams are passed to a beam separating element and through a collimating lens onto respective photodetectors. The beam separating element may be a split mirror having two mirrors mounted at an angle to each other, e.g., less than 15.degree., preferably 51/2.degree., to direct the beams in different directions to the two photodetectors. Alternatively, the beam separating element may be a multifaceted prism having at least two refracting portions to direct the two beam outputs to different photodetectors. The same lens m…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.