Patent ID: 7429860
Filing Date: 2008-09-30
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for performing spectral analysis of a sample, the apparatus comprising: a. a data acquisition system configured to measure a signal emitted from the sample in response to excitation energy applied thereto, and to average the measured signal over a plurality of measurements to generate an averaged signal for the sample; b. a data processing system including: c. a control system configured to identify, in a graph of the singular values of the correlation matrix constructed within the vector space created from the averaged signal, a gap between a smallest noisefree singular value and a first noise singular value, so as to request the data acquisition system to perform additional measurements of the signal emitted from the sample if no such separation gap can be identified, and to prevent further measurements of the signal emitted by the sample from being made by the data acquisition system if the gap has appeared and is stable.