Patent ID: 6373569
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: G01J,G02B

Abstract:
A method for determining spectral content of electromagnetic radiation comprising:passing linearly polarized electromagnetic radiation through a rotator, the rotator exhibiting wavelength dependent dispersion of a polarization angle which rotates a polarization plane of all spectral components of the electromagnetic polarized radiation by an angle determined by both a wavelength of the polarized electromagnetic radiation and a physical and/or geometric characteristic of the rotator represented by a parameter p, the parameter p representing an extent to which the polarization plane of all spectral components is rotated, the polarized electromagnetic radiation after passing through the rotator passes through an output polarizer and impinges upon only a single detector which measures an intensity of at least a single point of the polarized electromagnetic radiation for plural values of the parameter p which produces a set of intensity values comprising a mathematical function of p and wavelength from which at least spectral information is mathematically extracted.