Apparatus and method for optical spectroscopy and/or imaging with a variable fiber offset. An optical probe includes one or more first optical fibers, one or more second optical fibers, and one or more actuators. The first optical fibers are to deliver light to an object. The second optical fibers are to collect light emitted from the object. The actuators are configured to change a distance between the first optical fibers and the second optical fiber while the object is being illuminated by light emitted from the first optical fibers.

The invention relates to an optical measurement device for a reaction vessel, and a method therefor. An object is to measure the optical state within a reaction vessel in an efficient, rapid, and highly reliable manner, without an expansion of the device scale. The configuration includes: a vessel group in which two or more reaction vessels are arranged; a light guide stage having two or more linking portions to which front ends of light guide portions, which have a flexibility, that optically connect with the interior of the linked reaction vessels, are provided; a connecting end arranging body that has an arranging surface that arranges and supports along a predetermined path two or more connecting ends, to which back ends of the light guide portions, in which the front ends thereof are provided to the linking portions, are provided, the connecting ends are provided corresponding to the respective linking portions; a measurement device provided approaching or making contact with the arranging surface that has measuring ends that are successively optically connectable with the respective connecting ends along the predetermined path, and in which light from within the reaction vessels is receivable by means of optical connections between the connecting ends and the measuring ends; and a light guide switching mechanism that relatively moves the respective connecting ends arranged on the connecting end arranging body and the respective measuring ends such that they are successively optically connected.

A waveguide structure including a mid-infrared-transparent waveguide on a mid-infrared-transparent undercladding may serve as a photonic chemical sensor for measuring characteristic absorptions of analytes brought in physical contact with the waveguide. In some embodiments, a sensor including an amorphous-silicon waveguide on a barium-titanate undercladding can operate at wavelengths ranging from 2.5 m to about 7 m; this sensor may be manufactured by epitaxial growth of the undercladding on a substrate, followed by CMOS-compatible creation of the waveguide. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

A spectroscopic system may include: a probe having a probe tip and an optical coupler, the optical coupler including an emitting fiber group and first and second receiving fiber groups, each fiber group having a first end and a second end, wherein the first ends of the fiber groups are formed into a bundle and optically exposed through the probe tip; a light source optically coupled to the second end of the emitting fiber group, the light source emitting light in at least a first waveband and a second waveband, the second waveband being different from the first waveband; a first spectrometer optically coupled to the second end of the first receiving fiber group and configured to process light in the first waveband; and a second spectrometer optically coupled to the second end of the second receiving fiber group and configured to process light in the second waveband.

Disclosed herein are optical near-field systems and methods that provide a noninvasive and fast approach to detect and characterize dislocation defects in semiconductors films caused by a mismatched film-substrate, such as found in GaAsSi. The embodiments disclosed utilize optical cavities formed by the dislocation defects. The optical cavities act to localize a beam excitation light, which elicits second harmonic generated (SHG) light from the same region. The SHG light can be probed and mapped to provide information regarding the defects. The information derived from the map includes defect location, defect density, and defect orientation.

A photoacoustic remote sensing system (PARS) for imaging a subsurface structure in a sample has an excitation beam configured to generate ultrasonic signals in the sample at an excitation location; an interrogation beam incident on the sample at the excitation location, a portion of the interrogation beam returning from the sample that is indicative of the generated ultrasonic signals; an optical system that focuses at least one of the excitation beam and the interrogation beam with a focal point that is below the surface of the sample; and a detector that detects the returning portion of the interrogation beam.

A Raman spectroscopic detection device comprising at least one microfluidic sample channel; at least one excitation waveguide for exciting a Raman signal and at least one collection waveguide for collecting a Raman signal. The output of the excitation waveguide and the input of the collection waveguide are positioned directly in the microfluidic sample channel.

The present disclosure describes a device and corresponding method for measuring tar in a tar environment, e.g., a tar producing environment such as a stove or a combustion engine, based on UV absorption spectroscopy. A first measurement along an optical path in the tar environment is performed at a wavelength less than 340 nm at which both tar and non-tar elements absorb. This measurement is compensated for non-tar absorption by means of a second measurement at a wavelength equal to or greater than 340 nm at which tar does not absorb. From the non-tar compensated absorbance value a measure of tar in the tar environment is derived and an air intake in the tar environment is regulated based on the measure of tar.

The method and apparatus as shown in the present invention is to measure the absorption of light by material contained in a liquid. A transmitted signal is sent through a measurement window to a measurement chamber to a target point just inside the measurement window. The reflected signal indicates the amount of light absorbed by a material in the measurement chamber which allows for the amount of materials in a liquid to be determined. Adjustments are made through an optical block and a light control molecule to correct for variations in light intensity.

A distributed device for the detection of a substance is disclosed, comprising: a distributed optical excitation source (21) including a first optical fiber (22) having a plurality of extraction regions (24), each extraction region (24) being adapted to extract part of the light carried by the first optical fiber (22) from said fiber; and a distributed acoustic sensor (25) including a second optical fiber (26).