Ocean Optics has recently been issued two new US patents which it says will reinforce its lead in next generation spectrometer technology
One of the new patents covers the composition and method of producing high-reflection silver mirrors or thin-film optical filters.
These increase sensitivity in Ocean Optics spectrometers.
The second is for tuneable variable bandpass optical filters.
These combine Ocean Optics's patented high-pass and low-pass linear variable filters to create the world's first notch filter with an adjustable bandpass.
The process producing silver reflecting layers in dielectric thin films results in coatings with extremely high reflectivity.
They feature greater than 95 percent reflectivity over the visible and NIR wavelength range and over a wide range of angles of incidence.
The dielectric coatings protect the silver from oxidation and enhance reflectivity.
The coatings are environmentally stable and can be applied to standard optical substrates to produce mirrors and filters.
The spectrometer systems incorporating them show a 10-35 percent increase in system sensitivity compared to units made with conventional aluminium coated mirrors.
The tuneable variable bandpass optical filters are especially useful for spectrally shaping the excitation energy from broadband sources used for fluorescence.
When making traditional fluorescence spectroscopy measurements they eliminate the need for multiple, expensive bandpass filters.
They also spectrally shape the excitation energy from a single broadband source as opposed to using multiple light sources with various wavelengths or a front-end scanning monochromator.
