An example system for inspecting a surface includes a laser, an optical system, a gated camera, and a control system. The laser is configured to emit pulses of light, with respective wavelengths of the pulses of light varying over time. The optical system includes at least one optical element, and is configured to direct light emitted by the laser to points along a scan line one point at a time. The gated camera is configured to record a fluorescent response of the surface from light having each wavelength of a plurality of wavelengths at each point along the scan line. The control system is configured to control the gated camera such that an aperture of the gated camera is open during fluorescence of the surface but closed during exposure of the surface to light emitted by the laser.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, an electronic device can comprise: a light-emitting module for emitting light; a reflection module for reflecting the light emitted from the light-emitting module; a spectrometric module; and a light receiving module for receiving at least one wavelength band among a plurality of wavelength bands dispersed by the spectrometric module.

An apparatus includes a substrate transmissive of electromagnetic energy of at least a plurality of wavelengths, having a first end, a second end, a first major face, a second major face, at least one edge, a length, a width, and a thickness, at least a first nanostructure that selectively extracts electromagnetic energy of a first set of wavelengths from the substrate; and an input optic oriented and positioned to provide electromagnetic energy into the substrate via at least one of the first or the second major face of the substrate. Nanostructures can take the form of photonic crystal arrays, a plasmonic structure arrays, or holographic diffraction gratings. The apparatus may be part of a spectrometer.

An apparatus includes multiple photonic integrated circuit (PIC) optical spectrometers, and an imaging plane coupled to the PIC optical spectrometers. Each PIC optical spectrometer includes multiple semiconductor chip layers. Each semiconductor chip layer includes multiple arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) and a number of on-chip optical detectors.

A Multichromatic Calibration (MC) method of at least a spectral sensor which is one of a list comprising at least a spectrometer, a multispectral sensor, a hyperspectral sensor, a spectral camera, a color camera. The method comprises a. generating a plurality of different multichromatic spectra, wherein i. a spectrum from the plurality of different multichromatic spectra contains light intensity measurable by the at least one spectral sensor and by a reference spectral device, and ii. a spectrum from the plurality of different multichromatic spectra contains light centered around at least two different wavelengths and is configured to be integrated during an exposure time of a single measurement from any of the at least one spectral sensor or the reference spectral device; b. measuring each multichromatic spectrum of the plurality of different multichromatic spectra with the reference spectral device and the at least one spectral sensor; and from all data of the measured multichromatic spectra, compute a transfer function which relates a response of the at least one spectral sensor to a corresponding response of the reference spectral device, without measuring the spectral response of the at least one spectral sensor.

A spectrometer may include a radiation source having a spark generator, an entrance slit, a dispersive element and a plurality of detectors, and a rotatable sector shutter having an axis of rotation and a trigger unit optically coupled to the sector diaphragm. The axis of rotation of the sector shutter is non-parallel to a connecting line between the source and the entrance slit.

An example system for inspecting a surface includes a laser, an optical system, a gated camera, and a control system. The laser is configured to emit pulses of light, with respective wavelengths of the pulses of light varying over time. The optical system includes at least one optical element, and is configured to direct light emitted by the laser to points along a scan line one point at a time. The gated camera is configured to record a fluorescent response of the surface from light having each wavelength of a plurality of wavelengths at each point along the scan line. The control system is configured to control the gated camera such that an aperture of the gated camera is open during fluorescence of the surface but closed during exposure of the surface to light emitted by the laser.

An optical device includes a door, a door control unit, a polarized light generation unit and a spectrum response analysis unit. The polarized light generation unit and the spectrum response analysis unit are located at a first side of the door. When the door is opened by the door control unit, a polarized light from the polarized light generation unit is transmitted through the door and externally projected on an under-test object at a second side of the door, so that a scattered light is generated. After the scattered light is returned back and transmitted through the door, the scattered light is projected on the spectrum response analysis unit, so that the spectrum response analysis unit performs a spectrum response analysis. The optical device has enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, the optical device is capable of acquiring more explicit and diverse inherent information of the under-test object.

An apparatus includes a substrate transmissive of electromagnetic energy of at least a plurality of wavelengths, having a first end, a second end, a first major face, a second major face, at least one edge, a length, a width, and a thickness, at least a first nanostructure that selectively extracts electromagnetic energy of a first set of wavelengths from the substrate; and an input optic oriented and positioned to provide electromagnetic energy into the substrate via at least one of the first or the second major face of the substrate. Nanostructures can take the form of photonic crystal arrays, a plasmonic structure arrays, or holographic diffraction gratings. The apparatus may be part of a spectrometer.

In one embodiment, an infrared (IR) imaging system for determining a concentration of a target species in an object is disclosed. The imaging system can include an optical system including an optical focal plane array (FPA) unit. The optical system can have components defining at least two optical channels thereof, said at least two optical channels being spatially and spectrally different from one another. Each of the at least two optical channels can be positioned to transfer IR radiation incident on the optical system towards the optical FPA. The system can include a processing unit containing a processor that can be configured to acquire multispectral optical data representing said target species from the IR radiation received at the optical FPA. Said optical system and said processing unit can be contained together in a data acquisition and processing module configured to be worn or carried by a person.