Patent ID: 8472027
Filing Date: 2013-06-25
Classification: A61B,G01B,G01N

Abstract:
1. Spectral interferometry apparatus, comprising object optics arranged to transfer a beam from the optical source to a target object, and to produce an object beam from the target object; reference optics arranged to produce a reference beam, wherein the object beam is associated with an object path delay and the reference beam is associated with a reference path delay, the difference between the object path delay and the reference path delay defining an optical path difference, OPD; displacement optics arranged to displace at least one of said object beam and said reference beam in order to relatively displace at least one of the object beam and the reference beam laterally from each other by a lateral displacement, G, to produce a relatively displaced object beam and a relatively displaced reference beam, wherein the displacement optics is arranged to use one or a combination of reflection, deflection, or refraction of at least one of the object beam and the reference beam; and optical spectrum dispersing optics arranged to disperse the relatively displaced reference beam and relatively displaced object beam into a dispersed relatively displaced reference beam and into a dispersed relatively displaced object beam respectively, wherein the dispersed relatively displaced reference beam and the dispersed relatively displaced object beam are superposed on the reading element; wherein the dispersed laterally displaced object beam has a wavetrain length, W wherein in use the combination of the displacement optics and the optical spectrum dispersing optics is arranged to create an intrinsic optical delay, IOD, between the two wavetrainsof lengths W