Patent ID: 7564560

Claim:
A spectrophotometer comprising: a matrix of photodetectors distributed in columns and rows along two perpendicular directions, said matrix of photodetectors being placed in an image plane of the spectrophotometer; an interferometer arranged to produce, on a column of the matrix of photodetectors, an interferogram of a light source situated in an inlet field of the spectrophotometer; a dispersive system arranged on the path of light beams passing through the interferometer, and arranged to disperse light parallel to the rows of the matrix of photodetectors; and a slit arranged in an intermediate image plane between the inlet of the spectrophotometer and the matrix of photodetectors, the slit having a width direction conjugated with the row direction of the matrix of photodetectors; the spectrophotometer being characterized in that the interferometer has a spectral resolution less than a spectral sampling interval of the photodetectors along the row direction of the matrix, and in that the width of the slit is adapted so that the spectral resolution of the dispersive system generated by the slit is greater than the spectral sampling interval of the photodetectors along the row direction of the matrix.