Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Varian Australia Pty Ltd

Dower Cameron Bricker

Yang Han

Richard Paul Tella

Michael Ron Hammer

Adam Kleczewski

Philip V Wilson

Martin Keith Masters

Stewart R Campbell

Peter G Layton

Mark R Williams

A light source having first and second wire-grid polarizers and a laser that emits a beam of linearly polarized light that is characterized by a propagation direction is disclosed. The first wire-grid polarization filter is characterized by a first linear polarization pass direction and a first actuator for causing the first linear polarization pass direction to rotate relative to the beam of linearly polarized light. The second wire-grid polarization filter is characterized by a second linear polarization pass direction and a second actuator for causing the second linear polarization pass direction to rotate relative to the beam of linearly polarized light. A controller sets the first and second linear polarization pass directions to provide linearly polarized light having a specified polarization direction.

Light source with controllable linear polarization

A method and apparatus for the spectrochemical analysis of a sample in which a solid state array detector ( ) is used to detect radiation ( ) of spectrochemical interest. The invention involves the use of a shutter ( ) adjacent the entrance aperture ( ) of a polychromator ( ) to expose the detector ( ) to the radiation ( ) for varying lengths of time whereby for short duration exposure times charge accumulation in elements (i.e. pixels) of the detector ( ) due to high intensity components of the radiation is limited and for longer exposure times charge accumulation in elements (pixels) of the detector ( ) due to feeble intesity components of radiation ( ) is increased. This ensures that each reading of the detector ( ) includes at least one exposure in which the amount of charge accumulated at each wavelength of interest is neither too little or too great. The problems of feeble radiation components not being accurately measurable and of high intensity radiation components exceeding the charge carrying capacity of elements (pixels) of the detector ( ) are thereby able to be avoided. An attenuator ( ) may be placed between the radiation source ( ) and the detector ( ) to permit longer exposure times to be used for very high intensity radiation.

Method and apparatus for spectrochemical analysis

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Selby, Australia

Dower Cameron Bricker