Patent ID: 6753959
Filing Date: 2004-06-22
Classification: G01J,G01N

Abstract:
Spectroscopy apparatus for spectrochemical analysis of a sample comprisinga light source and a system for interacting the light source and a sample for providing spectral light of the sample, and an optical system including a polychromator and a multi-element solid state detector for providing intensity measurements of the spectral light as a function of wavelength, means for serially reading a plurality of the elements of the detector to provide said light intensity measurements, and further including a shutter device having a piezoelectric structure, the shutter device being operable on application of an electrical signal of selected voltage versus time profile to the piezoelectric structure for monotonic movement between two positions, said voltage versus time profile first accelerating said shutter device toward one said position and then decelerates said shutter device such that it reaches the other said position with substantially zero velocity, wherein at one position the spectral light is permitted to reach the detector, and at the other position the spectral light is prevented from reaching the detector for the plurality of detector elements to be serially read while the detector is shielded from the spectral light.