Compact, low cost Raman monitor for single substances
Apparatus for performing Raman spectroscopy may include a first laser source having a first emission wavelength and a second laser source having a second emission wavelength. A separation between the first and second emission wavelengths may correspond to a width of a Raman band of a substance of interest. A switch may provide switching between the first and second laser sources. An ensemble of laser emitters may be provided. A Bragg grating element may receive laser light from the ensemble. An optical system may direct light from the Bragg grating element into an optical fiber. A combined beam through the optical fiber may contain light from each of the emitters.
1. Apparatus for performing Raman spectroscopy, the apparatus comprising:
an ensemble of laser emitters, the ensemble being adapted to emit first laser light having a first wavelength and second laser light having a second wavelength, wherein a separation between the first and second wavelengths corresponds to a width of a Raman band of a substance of interest;
a Bragg grating element that is adapted to receive the first laser light and the second laser light, the Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a Bragg grating recorded therein; and
an optical system that is adapted to form a combined beam that contains light at each of the first and second wavelengths.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a beam transformation system that receives the first laser light and the second laser light, and rotates images of the laser emitters by 90 degrees.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the laser emitters is a p-n junction.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the laser emitters are respective p-n junctions in a single chip.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the laser emitters are individually addressable to emit respective laser light sequentially.
6. The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising a fast-axis collimator between the ensemble of laser emitters and the beam transformation system, and a slow-axis collimator between the beam transformation system and the optical system.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the Bragg grating element reflects a respective portion of the light it receives from each of the emitters back into the emitters as a narrowband seed that causes each of the emitters to lase at its respective wavelength.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ensemble is further adapted to emit third laser light having a third wavelength, and wherein a separation between the second and third wavelengths corresponds to a width of a second Raman band of the substance of interest.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ensemble is further adapted to emit third laser light having a third wavelength, and wherein a separation between the second and third wavelengths corresponds to a width of a Raman band of a second substance of interest.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the Bragg grating element has a longitudinal axis, and has recorded therein a Bragg grating having a period that varies as a function of position along the longitudinal axis of the Bragg grating element.
11. Apparatus for performing Raman spectroscopy, the apparatus comprising:
an ensemble of laser emitters, the ensemble comprising a first laser emitter that emits laser light having a first wavelength and a second laser emitter that emits laser light having a second wavelength, wherein a separation between the first and second wavelengths corresponds to a width of a Raman band of a substance of interest;
a Bragg grating element that receives the laser light from the laser emitters, the Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a Bragg grating recorded therein; and
an optical system that forms a combined beam that contains light from each of the first emitter and the second emitter.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a beam transformation system that receives the laser light from the laser emitters and rotates images of the laser emitters by 90 degrees.
13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein each of the first and second laser emitters is a p-n junction.
14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first and second laser emitters are respective p-n junctions in a single chip.
15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first and second laser emitters are individually addressable to emit respective laser light sequentially.
16. The apparatus of claim 12 , further comprising a fast-axis collimator between the ensemble of laser emitters and the beam transformation system, and a slow-axis collimator between the beam transformation system and the optical system.
17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the Bragg grating element reflects a respective portion of the light it receives from each of the emitters back into the emitters as a narrowband seed that causes each of the emitters to lase at its respective wavelength.
18. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the ensemble comprises a third laser emitter that emits laser light having a third wavelength, wherein a separation between the second and third wavelengths corresponds to a width of a second Raman band of the substance of interest.
19. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the ensemble comprises a third laser emitter that emits laser light having a third wavelength, wherein a separation between the second and third wavelengths corresponds to a width of a Raman band of a second substance of interest.
20. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the Bragg grating element has a longitudinal axis, and has recorded therein a Bragg grating having a period that varies as a function of position along the longitudinal axis of the Bragg grating element.