Patent ID: 8351043
Filing Date: 2013-01-08
Classification: G01J,G02B

Abstract:
1. A spectrometer comprising: a multi-input aperture configured to admit an input wavefront from a spatially extended light source; an array of multiple waveguide structures terminating at said multi-input aperture such that said input wavefront is incident on each of said waveguide structures, and wherein said waveguide structures provide a dispersive function for said input wavefront, and pairs of elements of said waveguide structures are coupled together to form a plurality of interferometers, each interferometer having its own discrete input and output, and each interferometer having an optical path length difference (OPD) between optical paths therein, and wherein the OPDs for said interferometers are different, and wherein said interferometers produce at their outputs spectral components of the input wavefront; a detector array comprising detector elements for detecting the spectral components at the respective outputs of the interferometers on the detector array, the interferometers individually producing outputs at said detector elements that are periodic functions of wavelength; and a processor configured to superpose the spectral components to obtain the spectrum of the input wavefront.