LED-BASED ILLUMINATION APPARATUS FOR CONFIGURATION WITH A SPECTRO-FLUOROMETER SYSTEM

1 . An illumination apparatus for configuration with a spectro-fluorometer system comprising:

at least one light emitting diode (LED) configured to emit light including a first beam-width angle;

a collimator optically coupled to the at least one LED, wherein the collimator is configured to collimate the light emitted from the at least one LED to form a collimated light beam including a second beam-width angle and a first cross-sectional illumination intensity profile, wherein the second beam-width angle is less than the first beam-width angle; and

a light guide optically coupled to the collimator, wherein the light guide is configured to:

alter a cross-sectional area of the collimated light beam; and

output a substantially homogenized light beam including a second cross-sectional illumination intensity profile with greater uniformity than the first cross-sectional illumination intensity profile.

2 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first beam-width angle is greater than approximately 120 degrees.

3 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second beam-width angle is less than approximately eight degrees.

4 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the collimated light beam travels between 0 mm and 1 mm from the collimator to the light guide.

5 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light emitted from the at least one LED includes a wide wavelength range.

6 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

an optical filter is located between the collimator and the light guide; and

the optical filter filters the collimated light beam and outputs a filtered light beam including an application specific wavelength range.

7 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

an LED-mounting component to which the at least one LED is mounted; and

a heat-sinking component thermally coupled to the LED-mounting component.

8 . The illumination apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a cooling component configured to stabilize a temperature of the heat-sinking component.

9 . The illumination apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the cooling component comprises a fan.

10 . The illumination apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the cooling component comprises a thermal electric cooler.

11 . The illumination apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a temperature sensor thermally coupled to the heat-sinking component, wherein the temperature sensor is part of a control loop with the cooling component to maintain a substantially constant temperature at a location of the temperature sensor.

12 . The illumination apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

a receiving face of the light guide receives the collimated light beam;

an emitting face of the light guide emits the substantially homogenized light beam; and

the receiving face includes a greater surface area than the emitting face.

13 . The illumination apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the light guide is tapered between the receiving face and the emitting face.

14 . The illumination apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the light guide is tapered at a substantially uniform angle.

15 . A method for illuminating a sample in a spectro-fluorometer system configured with an illumination apparatus, the method comprising:

emitting, with at least one light emitting diode (LED), light including a first beam-width angle;

collimating, with a collimator, the light emitted from the at least one LED to form a collimated light beam including a second beam-width angle and a first cross-sectional illumination intensity profile, wherein the second beam-width angle is less than the first beam-width angle;

receiving, with a light guide, the collimated light beam;

altering, with the light guide, a cross-sectional area of the collimated light beam; and

outputting, by the light guide, a substantially homogenized light beam including a second cross-sectional illumination intensity profile with greater uniformity than the first cross-sectional illumination intensity profile.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the first beam-width angle is greater than approximately 120 degrees.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the second beam-width angle is less than approximately eight degrees.

18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising substantially stabilizing a temperature of the at least one LED with a control loop including cooling component and a temperature sensor.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the cooling component comprises a fan.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:

a receiving face of the light guide receives the collimated light beam;

an emitting face of the light guide emits the substantially homogenized light beam; and

the receiving face includes a greater surface area than the emitting face.

21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the light guide is tapered between the receiving face and the emitting face.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light guide is tapered at a substantially uniform angle.

23 . A spectro-fluorometer system comprising:

an illumination apparatus including:

at least one light emitting diode (LED) configured to emit light including a first beam-width angle;

a collimator optically coupled to the at least one LED, wherein the collimator is configured to collimate the light emitted from the at least one LED to form a collimated light beam including a second beam-width angle and a first cross-sectional illumination intensity profile, wherein the second beam-width angle is less than the first beam-width angle; and

a light guide optically coupled to the collimator, wherein the light guide is configured to:

alter a cross-sectional area of the collimated light beam; and

output a substantially homogenized light beam including a second cross-sectional illumination intensity profile with greater uniformity than the first cross-sectional illumination intensity profile; and

a spectrographic detection system.