Patent ID: 8859969

Claim:
An optical analyzer system for identifying materials through reflectance spectral analysis, the system comprising: a light source comprising a ring-shaped circular array containing between 4 and 20 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) continuously driven with a DC power supply and constructed with individually packaged LEDs having built-in collimating lenses and with the individual LEDs emitting on the same or different wavelengths to continuously cover the entire wavelength range of 700-1100 nm or 900-1700 nm; a bifurcated fiber-optic reflection probe consisting of: a probe tip positionable close to a sample; a separate single receiving fiber for receiving reflected light from the sample; an illumination fiber bundle of four or more optical fibers to relay light from the light source to the sample; and a bifurcated section where the illumination fiber bundle is combined with the single receiving fiber so that the illumination fiber bundle is arranged in a concentric manner around the single receiving fiber at the probe tip; an optical efficiency enhancing element comprising an optical concentrator from the set of a reflective cone shaped concentrator, a refractive solid cone shaped concentrator, a compound parabolic reflective concentrator with an end of the concentrator having a parabola foci located towards the sample, a compound parabolic refractive lens concentrator, a compound elliptical reflective concentrator, or a compound elliptical refractive lens concentrator, wherein the optical efficiency element concentrates light emitted by the light source onto an end of the illumination fiber bundle of the fiber-optic reflection probe that is closest to the light source; a dispersive optical spectrometer connected to an end of the separate single receiving fiber of the fiber-optic reflect probe that is away from the probe tip, the dispersive optical spectrometer having: an input slit; a diffraction grating or one or more prisms for wavelength dispersing; and a linear detector array with associated readout electronics to collect and integrate the signal from each detector element in the linear detector array, wherein the linear detector array has at least 128 detector elements, and wherein the detector elements respond within the wavelength range of 700-1100 nm or 900-1700 nm; and a computer or microprocessor system, interfaced with the optical spectrometer, that includes a computer memory module for storing and retrieving data (preferably a magnetic or electronic hard drive memory), wherein the computer or microprocessor system controls the collection of spectral data, storage of the collected spectral data, and processing, analysis, and display of the spectral data; wherein the optical axis of each LED in the array is pointing at an end of the illumination fiber bundle of the fiber-optic reflection probe.