A compact, portable Raman spectrometer makes fast, sensitive standoff measurements at little to no risk of eye injury or igniting the materials being probed. This spectrometer uses differential Raman spectroscopy and ambient light measurements to measure point-and-shoot Raman signatures of dark or highly fluorescent materials at distances of 1 cm to 10 m or more. It scans the Raman pump beam(s) across the sample to reduce the risk of unduly heating or igniting the sample. Beam scanning also transforms the spectrometer into an instrument with a lower effective safety classification, reducing the risk of eye injury. The spectrometer's long standoff range automatic focusing make it easier to identify chemicals through clear and translucent obstacles, such as flow tubes, windows, and containers. And the spectrometer's components are light and small enough to be packaged in a handheld housing or housing suitable for a small robot to carry.

A hand held spectrometer is used to illuminate the object and measure the one or more spectra. The spectral data of the object can be used to determine one or more attributes of the object. In many embodiments, the spectrometer is coupled to a database of spectral information that can be used to determine the attributes of the object. The spectrometer system may comprise a hand held communication device coupled to a spectrometer, in which the user can input and receive data related to the measured object with the hand held communication device. The embodiments disclosed herein allow many users to share object data with many people, in order to provide many people with actionable intelligence in response to spectral data.

Disclosed are methods and devices for calibration in the field of optical sensors, e.g. characterizing and calibrating an optical sensor chip. In order to address complexity of sensor data with high accuracy the optical sensor, e.g. an optical sensor is not provided as an already calibrated unit. Rather, sensor response data may be recorded in a defined or standardized environment, e.g. at a production line, and with high precision. This high standard sensor response data can be obtained on a per device basis and, thus, is referenced with an unambiguous chip identification number, chip ID. The sensor data is complemented with a dedicated calibration algorithm which can be tailor-made to fit the optical sensor or the optical sensor chip. In order to retrieve the sensor response data and the calibration algorithm both can be made available by means of the chip ID, for example.

A protection device for an Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES) and a method of protecting a detector to which purge gas is supplied, in an OES, are disclosed. The protection device comprises a timer, which measures a parameter, such as a humidity value, indicative of a shut down time period following cessation of application of purge gas to the detector. The protection device comprises a processor, which determines a start-up time period, based on the parameter, during which purge gas is supplied to the detector prior to cooling of the detector. The processor may selectively trigger commencing or maintaining application of purge gas to the detector or cooling of the detector in dependence on the parameter.

A compact, portable Raman spectrometer makes fast, sensitive standoff measurements at little to no risk of eye injury or igniting the materials being probed. This spectrometer uses differential Raman spectroscopy and ambient light measurements to measure point-and-shoot Raman signatures of dark or highly fluorescent materials at distances of 1 cm to 10 m or more. It scans the Raman pump beam(s) across the sample to reduce the risk of unduly heating or igniting the sample. Beam scanning also transforms the spectrometer into an instrument with a lower effective safety classification, reducing the risk of eye injury. The spectrometer's long standoff range automatic focusing make it easier to identify chemicals through clear and translucent obstacles, such as flow tubes, windows, and containers. And the spectrometer's components are light and small enough to be packaged in a handheld housing or housing suitable for a small robot to carry.

A means to automate, using fuzzy logic, the classification of spectral power distributions of optical radiation for lighting systems, and more particularly horticultural lighting systems, is presented. After inputting the spectral power distribution of optical radiation from one or more light sources, radial basis function weights for the spectral power distribution are determined and fuzzified preparatory to fuzzy logic classification. Fuzzy if-then rules are then applied, and an aggregate of the rule votes from the fuzzy if-then rules applied is used to classify the spectral power distribution. The system utilizes a spectral sensor, a fuzzifier module, a fuzzy rule database, fuzzy rule engine, an output fuzzifier module, and a means of displaying the spectral power distribution classification.

A system for performing spectroscopy, including a first frequency comb source outputting first electromagnetic radiation comprising a first frequency comb centered at a first wavelength and having a first repetition rate; a second frequency comb source outputting a second electromagnetic radiation comprising a second frequency comb centered at a second wavelength and having a second repetition rate; a nonlinear device positioned to receive the first frequency comb and the second frequency comb, wherein the nonlinear device interacts the first frequency comb and the second frequency comb through sum frequency generation or difference frequency generation so as to generate an output electromagnetic radiation; and a detection system outputting a signal in response to detecting an interference of the output electromagnetic radiation with a third electromagnetic radiation, the signal comprising information used for determining a spectrum of at least the first frequency comb or the second frequency comb.

Provided is an identification apparatus wherein each spectral light beam corresponding to a predetermined wavenumber shift is projected to the imaging portion) so that a distance between a projection position of the spectral light beam corresponding to the predetermined wavenumber shift on the imaging portion and a changed projection position as a result of the different excitation wavelength is shorter than a distance at the imaging lens between an optical path of the spectral light beam corresponding to the predetermined wavenumber shift and a changed optical path as a result of the different excitation wavelength.

A hand held spectrometer is used to illuminate the object and measure the one or more spectra. The spectral data of the object can be used to determine one or more attributes of the object. In many embodiments, the spectrometer is coupled to a database of spectral information that can be used to determine the attributes of the object. The spectrometer system may comprise a hand held communication device coupled to a spectrometer, in which the user can input and receive data related to the measured object with the hand held communication device. The embodiments disclosed herein allow many users to share object data with many people, in order to provide many people with actionable intelligence in response to spectral data.

A system and process scans a target area at a distance of 3-30 m for one or more materials. Scanning is performed by a coherent transmit beam aimed with the help of a thermal camera. The active source of the beam is a supercontinuum (SC) laser. The transmitted source beam is modulated by a high-speed Fourier-transform spectrometer prior to interaction with the target. Target reflected source beam is detected by an infrared detector, along with a reference portion of the transmitted source beam, as a series of interferograms; passed through a digitizer for digitizing the interferograms; and processed to producing spectrograms, wherein the spectrograms are indicative of one or more materials on the target.