This relates to systems and methods for measuring a concentration and type of substance in a sample at a sampling interface. The systems can include a light source, optics, one or more modulators, a reference, a detector, and a controller. The systems and methods disclosed can be capable of accounting for drift originating from the light source, one or more optics, and the detector by sharing one or more components between different measurement light paths. Additionally, the systems can be capable of differentiating between different types of drift and eliminating erroneous measurements due to stray light with the placement of one or more modulators between the light source and the sample or reference. Furthermore, the systems can be capable of detecting the substance along various locations and depths within the sample by mapping a detector pixel and a microoptics to the location and depth in the sample.

The invention relates to a dynamic method for determining the formation of a Winsor III microemulsion system, the method comprising the steps of: providing a mixture of an aqueous medium and a hydrocarbon medium in a chamber; continuously altering the concentration of at least one component in the mixture, while the ratio of the aqueous medium to the hydrocarbon medium remains constant and while stirring the mixture; and continuously measuring at least one physicochemical property of the mixture. The invention further relates to a device for determining the formation of a Winsor III microemulsion system.

A system for real-time assessment of systemic hydration includes a light source configured to operably emit light of first and second wavelengths; means for delivering the emitted light to a target site to excite at least one first spot at the target site, and collecting Raman scattering light scattered from the target site at a plurality of second spots; a detector coupled with said means for obtaining a plurality of spatially offset Raman spectra from the collected Raman scattering light, each spatially offset Raman spectrum corresponding to a respective second spot of the target site and associated with a depth of tissues at which the Raman scattering light is scattered; and a controller configured to process the plurality of spatially offset Raman spectra so as to identify spectral features from the plurality of spatially offset Raman spectra, and assess systemic hydration from the identified spectral features.

A measuring apparatus includes: a light source device that projects light or light of which intensity is periodically modulated onto a measurement object; a light receiver that receives backscattered light of light projected by the light source device from the measurement object; and a processor comprising hardware, the processor being configured to: measure TOF information of the light projected by the light source device and the backscattered light received by the light receiver; acquire distances from a surface of the measurement object to the light source device and the light receiver; and calculate an internal propagation distance in the measurement object according to the measured TOF information and the acquired distances.

A detector device for the remote analysis of materials, in particular hazardous materials, including at least one laser, which is designed to emit pulsed laser light onto a sample located at a detection distance, and a telescope, which is designed to collect and/or focus laser light scattered on the sample and to forward the scattered laser light into an optical spectrometer. The optical spectrometer is designed for a spectral analysis of the laser light scattered on the sample. The laser is followed by a first beam path with a first reference beam and an additional beam path with a second reference beam for the scattered laser light. A unit is provided for determining a time difference between pulses of the first reference beam and pulses of the second reference beam, wherein the detection distance can be determined from the time difference. The unit is designed to determine the detection distance in real-time.

A combined capability sensor includes a first laser source and a second laser source. The first laser source is configured to emit light having a wavelength in at least one of an infrared spectrum and a visible spectrum and the second laser source is configured to emit light having a wavelength in a blue or ultraviolet spectrum. A director is configured to direct the first and second laser source to a detection zone. A first sensor is configured to detect scattered light originating from the first laser source, thereby detecting a presence of smoke in the detection zone. A second sensor is configured to detect fluoresced light originating from the second laser source, thereby detecting a presence of a biological agent in the detection zone.

An optical sensor for an aircraft includes two detectors, a light source, and a controller. The detectors are oriented along detector paths and have tilt angles and fields of view. The detectors are configured to detect light reflected from an illumination volume and to generate detector signals that correspond to intensities of detected light. The tilt angles are equal such that each detector is oriented in an opposite direction within a plane containing a light source path and the detector paths. The light source is oriented along the light source path and is configured to illuminate the illumination volume which overlaps with the fields of view within a predetermined distance range. The controller is configured to receive the detector signals, detect whether a cloud is present based upon the detector signals, determine a cloud phase, and calculate a density of the detected cloud.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining metrics of a cloud atmosphere using time difference measurements. A light projector projects a pulse of light into a cloud atmosphere, and a light sensor detects a portion of the projected pulse of light backscattered by the cloud atmosphere. A backscatter coefficient is calculated based on peak amplitude of the detected portion. An optical extinction coefficient is calculated based on a time difference between a peak time and a post-peak time, which correspond to times at which the peak amplitude of the detected portion occurs and at which the detected portion equals or crosses a sub-peak threshold, respectively. In some embodiments, a logarithm amplifier is used to facilitate processing of signals of widely varying amplitudes. In some embodiments, the sub-peak threshold is calculated as a fraction of the peak amplitude of the detected portion.

A damage detection system includes one or more emitters, one or more receivers, and a controller. Emitters are arranged to transmit continuous beam or intermittent light pulses toward rotor blades during operation of a turbomachine. Light returns collected at the receivers define a light return amplitude profile. The controller analyzes the light return amplitude profile to identify light amplitude changes indicative of one or more damaged blades. When the light return profile satisfies one or more damage criteria, the controller outputs an indication of blade damage to another turbomachine controller, system, or display.

A spatial gradient-based fluorometer featuring a signal processor or processing module configured to: receive signaling containing information about light reflected off fluorophores in a liquid and sensed by a linear sensor array having a length and rows and columns of optical elements; and determine corresponding signaling containing information about a fluorophore concentration of the liquid a fluorophore concentration of the liquid that depends on a spatial gradient of the light reflected and sensed along the length of the linear sensor array, based upon the signaling received.