JP2818042B2 - Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulsed light source - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a Fourier transform spectroscopy that obtains an analysis spectrum of a sample by taking out an interferogram using an interferometer and, more particularly, to a Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulse light source as a light source. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a conventional example of Fourier transform optical spectroscopy, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing signal waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG.

In the Fourier transform optical spectroscopy of the rapid scan system represented by the Michelson interferometer, as shown in FIG. 6, a two-beam interferometer comprising a semi-transmissive mirror 12, a fixed mirror 13, and a movable mirror 14, a light source 11, and A detector 15 is used.
Then, the light from the light source 11 is split into two light beams by the semi-transmissive mirror 12 of the two-beam interferometer, and one is guided to the fixed mirror 13 side, and the other is guided to the movable mirror 14 that moves at a constant speed. An interferogram (FIG. 7B) based on the difference is detected. The interferogram is sampled by the AD converter 18 using a trigger signal having a period τ ₀ generated by an interferometer as shown in FIG. 7C, as shown in FIG. Converted to obtain an analytical spectrum. Since the sample is not directly related here, the description is omitted.

In the above-described Fourier transform optical spectroscopy of the rapid scan method, it has been required that the intensity of the light source is constant and the light is continuous in time. In other words, the light source 11 emits continuous light having a constant intensity as shown in FIG. 7A, and the light incident on the interferometer causes the movable mirror 14 to move at a constant speed. Is modulated to a frequency proportional to the wave number of light, and is received by a detector.

[0005] Therefore, there is a problem that the light source to be used is restricted, and since the light is continuously irradiated, the target is limited to a sample which is not affected by the continuous irradiation.

Under such circumstances, the present applicant has already used a pulsed light source as a light source and a sampling method in Fourier transform spectroscopy in which an interferogram is taken out using an interferometer and Fourier transform is performed to obtain an analysis spectrum of the sample. A Fourier transform using a pulsed light source characterized by obtaining an analysis spectrum of a sample by emitting a pulse light having a shorter cycle than the cycle, extracting an interferogram of a low frequency component from a detector output, sampling and performing a Fourier transform. A spectroscopic method was proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 2-82126).
issue). Since this method uses a pulsed light source as the light source,
A SOR light source or a pulsed laser-excited Raman sample can be used as a light source. In addition, the time for irradiating the measurement target with light can be reduced and the amount of light to be irradiated can be reduced. The Fourier transform spectroscopy can be applied to a measurement object where continuous irradiation or the like is not preferable, and the application object is expanded.

[0007]

However, the above-mentioned proposal proposed by the present applicant is that the light emission cycle of the pulse light source is shorter than the sampling cycle of the interferogram, that is, the light emission cycle of the pulse light source is reduced by the sampling theorem. The maximum frequency f _{max of}
(Which is equal to or greater than the interferogram sampling period). Assuming that the emission cycle of the pulse light source is τ,
The above means that τ <１ ／ f _max or f _max <１ ／ τ was assumed.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to perform the Fourier transform spectroscopy using the pulse light source according to the above-mentioned proposal of the present applicant by using the light emission cycle of the pulse light source. If the maximum frequency f _max of the program signal is longer than the reciprocal of twice, that is,
An object of the present invention is to make it applicable even when the light emission cycle of the pulse light source is longer.

[0009]

For this purpose, Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulse light source according to the present invention obtains an interferogram from a detector output using a rapid scan interferometer, and performs Fourier transform to obtain an interferogram. Fourier transform spectroscopy for obtaining a spectrum, where a pulse light source is used as a light source, and a modulation frequency by an interferometer is f and a frequency of the pulse light source is 1 / τ, m / 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2
In Fourier transform spectroscopy applied when a detector output signal exists only at τ (m is a positive integer), m / 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2τ (m is a positive integer) The method is characterized in that the spectrum of the measurement light is obtained by extracting the frequency components in the range of (1), sampling and performing Fourier transform.

[0010]

In the Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulse light source according to the present invention, when a pulse light source is used as the light source and the modulation frequency of the interferometer is f and the frequency of the pulse light source is 1 / τ, m / 2τ <f < (M + 1) / 2τ (m is a positive integer)
, A pulsed light source whose emission cycle is longer than the reciprocal of twice the maximum frequency f _max of the interferogram signal,
That is, spectrum spectrometry can be performed using a pulse light source having a longer light emission cycle. Therefore, more light sources can be used as pulse light sources.

Further, as in the premise method of the present invention, since a pulse light source is used as a light source, an SOR light source, a pulsed laser-excited Raman sample, or the like can be used as a light source. Since the time can be shortened and the amount of light to be irradiated can be reduced, Fourier transform spectroscopy can be applied to measurement objects affected by light irradiation or measurement objects where continuous irradiation is not preferable. It spreads.

Furthermore, compared to the method presupposed by the present invention, an apparatus for implementing this method can be constructed with only a simple change of replacing the low-pass filter with a band-pass filter.

[0013]

As described above, in the Fourier transform spectroscopy using the pulse light source previously proposed by the present applicant, the modulation frequency f of the spectrometer is such that the light emission frequency of the pulse light source is 1 / τ (τ: pulse light emission). (Period) has been handled only in a range smaller than half. On the other hand, the present invention deals with a case where a signal exists only in the range of m / 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2τ (m is a positive integer).

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a Fourier transform spectrometer for performing one embodiment of Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulse light source according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1
Is a periodic pulse light source, 2 is an interferometer, 3 is a sample (in this case, the sample 3 is a transmission sample, but may be a reflection sample, a scattering sample, etc.), 4 is a detector, 5 is a preamplifier, 6 Denotes a bandpass filter, 7 denotes a main amplifier, 8 denotes an AD converter, and 9 denotes a computer. The periodic pulse light source 1 has A
Trigger signal of D converter 8 (interferogram is converted to A /
Pulsed laser that emits pulsed light having the same intensity at a constant period τ asynchronously with a sampling signal for D-converted and taken into a computer for Fourier transform)
A SOR (Synchrotron Orbital Radiation) light source, a pulsed laser-excited Raman sample, or the like may be used. Also,
When the intensity of the light source fluctuates, the intensity may be monitored to normalize the detector output. Bandpass filter 6
Is a specific band component of the spectrum obtained from the preamplifier 5 (m / 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2, as described later)
τ (m is a positive integer) is extracted and converted into an analog signal (analog interferogram). The AD converter 8 is for sampling an analog interferogram obtained through the band pass filter 6 by a trigger signal having a period τ ₀ .

Therefore, the FT-I comprising the periodic pulse light source 1, the interferometer 2, the sample 3, the detector 4, and the preamplifier 5
The output from the detector 4 of the R / spectrometer section is input to the main amplifier 7 of the FT-IR / signal processing section via the band pass filter 6 and is sampled by the AD converter 8 for Fourier transform. By the way, if the minimum and maximum of the frequency (interferogram frequency) at which the spectrum of the measurement light is modulated by the interferometer 2 are fmin and fmax, τ> m / 2fmin (a) τ <(m + 1) / 2fmax The light emission of the pulse light source 1 is repeated at a period τ that satisfies the condition (b). Here, m is a positive integer. That is, this is a case where the spectrum of the measurement light exists only in the range of m / 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2τ. FIG. 2A shows a case where m = 1. The modulation frequency f is represented by f = 2vσ, where σ is the wave number of the spectrum (1 / λ when the wavelength is λ), and v is the moving speed of the movable mirror of the interferometer 2, so that the above condition is satisfied. As described above, the emission spectrum region (wavelength range) from the light source 1 may be limited by an optical filter, or the moving speed of the movable mirror may be adjusted to satisfy the above condition. One of the features of this spectrometry is that it is not necessary to synchronize the repetition frequency 1 / τ of the light source 1 with the movement of the movable mirror, as can be seen from the above-mentioned conditions.

Now, the principle of spectral separation using the apparatus having such a configuration will be described below. The light periodically emitted from the light source 1 as shown in FIG.
(T) is represented by a comb function Шτ (t) indicating a repetitive operation arranged at equal intervals of time τ, and the transmission spectrum of sample 3 is represented by T
Assuming that (σ), the output signal F (x, t) from the detector 4 is as shown in equation (1).

F (x, t) = Шτ (t) ∫T (σ) B (σ) cos2πx σ dσ (1) where x is the optical path difference of the interferometer 2, σ is the wave number of the spectrum, B (σ) represents a background spectrum when the sample 3 is removed from the sample chamber of the FT-IR / spectrometer section. FIG. 3B shows an approximate state of the output signal of the interferometer by a solid line. Note that x is a time variable t ′ and x =
Although there is a relationship of 2vt ', since the light emission of the light source 1 is not synchronized with the movement of the movable mirror of the interferometer 2, t and t' have no phase correlation. That is, the phase amount Δt = t′−t between t and t ′ takes a different value each time the movable mirror scans. Therefore, the expression (1) indicates that the interferogram shows a different value each time the movable mirror scans.

The integral part of the equation (1) is an interferogram (analog interferogram) of the spectrum T (σ) B (σ) to be measured. ) Is sampled discrete data (digital interferogram).
Since the variables t and x are asynchronous in the sampling, the position where the interferogram is sampled is different each time the movable mirror scans.

In order to know the output from the detector 4 in detail, it is necessary to perform a Fourier transform on Шτ (t) of the equation (1) at a time t ′ correlated with the movement of the movable mirror and to examine the spectrum of the signal. To

∫Шτ (t) exp (−i2πft ′) dt ′ = (1 / τ) exp (−i2πΔtf) × Ш1 / τ (f) · (2) = (1 / τ) ｛δ (f) + exp (-i2πΔt / τ) δ (f-1 / τ) + ・ ・ ・ ・ + exp (i2πΔt / τ) δ (f + 1 / τ) + ・ ・ ・｝ (2 ') (2) Is a comb function with a phase term. The spectrum obtained when the Fourier transform of the integral part of the equation (1) is performed with respect to time is obtained by using the modulation frequency f as a variable, excluding the coefficients.
(f) B (f). Therefore, the entire equation (1), which is an output signal from the detector 4, is a zero-order term of the spectrum to be measured T (f) B (f) ((2 ′), excluding the phase term and the coefficient). δ (f). Since the calculation is an even function, the same spectrum exists in the negative part with f = 0 as the target axis.) It has a spectrum that appears as a sideband of the carrier frequency. Here, m / 2τ <f <(m + 1) /
From the condition of 2τ, the spectra of the side bands do not overlap. This is shown in FIG. The numbers written in the respective spectra in this figure indicate that they are sidebands of the carrier frequency of the same number.

The output from the detector 4 is led to a low-pass filter in the conventional system, but in the case of the present invention,
Only the spectrum of number 0 is taken out through the band pass filter 6 having the characteristic shown in FIG. At this time, the band-pass filter 6 outputs the first
An analog signal (analog interferogram) having a spectral component contributed by the term (zero-order term) is output. Since the first term of this equation (2 ') has no phase component,
The output signal does not cause a phase shift. This is shown in the following equation (3).

F (x) = (1 / τ) ∫T (σ) B (σ) cos2πxσdσ (3) Equation (3) is an analog interferogram, and the time t It is an independent formula. That is, the digital signal as shown in FIG. 3B sampled by the light source 1 is restored to the analog signal as shown in FIG. Since this has the same form as the interferogram obtained by the normal FT-IR spectrometer measurement, the period τ ₀ of the interferometer 2 provided by the AD converter 8 is similar to the processing in the normal FT-IR spectrometer. The spectrum T (σ,) B (σ) is obtained by performing sampling using the reference signal (FIG. 3D) and performing Fourier transform by the computer 9. In this case, tau _0, when the minimum and maximum modulation frequency with the interferogram signal output from the band pass filter 6 f _min, and _{f max, τ 0> m '} / 2f min, τ 0 <(m' +1) / 2f _max must be satisfied. Here, m 'is zero or a positive integer. Therefore, it was determined in the same manner as above.
The transmittance spectrum T (σ) of the sample 3 can be obtained by calculating the ratio between B (σ) and the spectrum T (σ) B (σ) obtained above. As described above, according to the Fourier transform spectroscopy using the pulse light source of the present invention, the periodic pulse light source whose emission cycle is longer than the reciprocal of twice the maximum frequency f _max of the interferogram signal, that is, the emission cycle Can use a longer pulsed light source to perform spectral spectrometry.

Next, when the Fourier spectroscopy of the present invention is applied to Raman spectroscopy, as shown in FIG.
A sample 3 is excited by a pulse laser 10 emitting light at a period τ, and Raman light from the sample 3 is detected by a detector 4 via an interferometer 2.
The output is input to the main amplifier 7 through the preamplifier 5 and the band-pass filter 6 in the same manner as in the case of FIG. 1, and is sampled by the AD converter 8 for Fourier transform. Also in this case, the emission period τ of the excitation pulse laser 10 is given by f min, f max where the minimum and maximum of the frequency (interferogram frequency) at which the spectrum of the Raman light from the sample 3 is modulated by the interferometer 2 are τ> m / 2fmin (a) Light emission is repeated while satisfying the condition of τ <(m + 1) / 2fmax (b). Here, m is a positive integer. That is, the spectrum of the measured Raman light is m
/ 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2τ.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. Further, Fourier transform spectroscopy using the pulse light source of the present invention can also be applied to time-resolved spectroscopy.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the Fourier transform spectroscopy using the pulse light source of the present invention, the pulse light source is used as the light source, the modulation frequency by the interferometer is f, and the frequency of the pulse light source is When 1 / τ, m / 2τ
<F <(m + 1) / 2τ (m is a positive integer), so that the present invention can be applied to the case where the detector output signal exists only at the maximum frequency f of the interferogram signal.
_A periodic pulsed light source longer than the reciprocal of twice _max , ie
Using a pulsed light source having a longer light emission cycle, spectral spectrometry can be performed. Therefore, more light sources can be used as pulse light sources.

Since the pulse light source is used as the light source as in the premise method of the present invention, an SOR light source or a pulsed laser-excited Raman sample can be used as the light source, and the object to be measured is irradiated with light. Since the time can be shortened and the amount of light to be irradiated can be reduced, Fourier transform spectroscopy can be applied to measurement objects affected by light irradiation or measurement objects where continuous irradiation is not preferable. It spreads.

Moreover, as compared with the method presupposed by the present invention, an apparatus for implementing this method can be configured with only a simple change of replacing the low-pass filter with a band-pass filter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a Fourier transform spectrometer for performing Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulse light source according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an analog interferogram and a digital interferogram and spectra included therein;

FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of Fourier transform spectroscopy using the pulse light source according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a frequency response characteristic of a bandpass filter used in the apparatus of FIG. 1 and an output spectrum thereof.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main part of a configuration of an embodiment in which the Fourier transform spectroscopy of the present invention is applied to Raman spectroscopy.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a conventional Fourier transform spectrometer.

FIG. 7 is a waveform chart for explaining the operation of the device of FIG. 6;

[Description of Signs] 1 ... Periodic pulse light source 2 ... Interferometer 3 ... Sample 4 ... Detector 5 ... Preamplifier 6 ... Band pass filter 7 ... Main amplifier 8 ... AD converter 9 ... Computer 10 ... Pulse laser for Raman excitation

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A Fourier transform spectroscopy method for obtaining an interferogram from a detector output using a rapid scan interferometer and performing a Fourier transform to obtain a spectrum of measurement light, wherein a pulse light source is used as a light source and the interferometer is used. When the modulation frequency is f and the frequency of the pulse light source is 1 / τ, m
/ 2τ <f <(m + 1) / 2τ (m is a positive integer), and in the Fourier transform spectroscopy applied when the detector output signal exists only at m / 2τ <f <
Fourier transform spectroscopy using a pulsed light source, wherein a frequency component in a range of (m + 1) / 2τ (m is a positive integer) is extracted, sampled, and subjected to Fourier transform to obtain a spectrum of measurement light.