Monchromaticity detector

Claim 2

Apparatus for distinguishing monochromatic from broadband light energy comprising means for producing a spatial intensity pattern of said light energy in an image plane, said pattern being periodic for monochromatic light and nonperiodic for broadband light energy; first and second parallel elongate photoelectric detector elements disposed in said image plane, and responsive to said light energy to produce output signals proportional to the intensity of light energy incident thereupon; a complementary periodic reticle mask having first and second parallel linear arrays of alternating opaque and transparent segments, said arrays having a common spatial period and opposite Spatial phase, said first array disposed on the light energy incident side of said first detector element and said second array disposed on the light energy incident side of said second detector element, whereby substantially more light energy in a periodic spatial intensity pattern is transmitted by the transparent segments of one said reticle mask array than is transmitted by the transparent segments of one said reticle mask array than is transmitted by the transparent segments of the other said reticle mask array, and light energy in a nonperiodic spatial intensity pattern is transmitted by the transparent segments of both said first and second arrays substantially equally; and signal-processing means including means coupled to said detector elements for producing signals representative of the sum and difference of said detector output signals, and means coupled to said sum and difference means for dividing said difference signal by said sum signal thereby producing a signal representative of the periodicity of said spatial intensity pattern, and thereby indicative of the monochromaticity of said light energy.

Claim 3

Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further including threshold detection means coupled to said dividing means and producing a binary indication as to the relative level of said divider output signal with respect to a preselected signal level.

Claim 4

Apparatus as recited in claim 1 further including an unmasked photoelectric detector element disposed such as to receive said light energy and responsive to produce an output signal representative of the total energy incident upon said apparatus.

Claim 5

Apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said signal-processing means includes means coupled to said detector elements for producing a signal representative of the sum of said detector output signals, and means coupled to said sum means and to said unmasked detector element for dividing said sum signal by the output signal from said unmasked detector element and thereby produce an output signal representative of the periodicity of said spatial intensity pattern.

Claim 6

Apparatus as recited in claim 4 further including threshold detection means coupled to said dividing means and producing a binary indication as to the relative level of said divider output signal with respect to a preselected signal level.

Claim 7

Apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said signal-processing means further includes means coupled to said unmasked detector element for sorting the output signal therefrom into one of a plurality of preselected total energy level categories.

Claim 8

Apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein said sorting means comprises a bandpass filter coupled to an amplitude threshold detector.

Claim 9

Apparatus as recited in claim 6 further including means for indicating the total energy level category into which said incident energy is sorted.

Claim 10

Apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said signal processing means further includes means coupled to unmasked detector element for sorting the output signal therefrom into one of a plurality of preselected pulse duration categories.

Claim 11

Apparatus as recited in claim 9 further including means for indicating the pulse duration category into which said incident energy is sorted.

Claim 12

Apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said signal-processing means further includes a bandpass filter, and a pulse shape-detecting means, said detecting means coupled to said unmasked detector element through said bandpass filter and operative to produce an output signal representative of the shape of pulsed signals passed by said filter.

Claim 13

Apparatus as recited in claim 11 further including means for visually displaying the shape of pulsed light energy which is incident upon said apparatus.

Claim 14

Apparatus for distinguishing monochromatic from broadband light energy comprising means for producing a spatial intensity pattern of said light energy in an image plane, said pattern Being periodic for monochromatic light energy, nonperiodic for broadband light energy, and having a period and phase which is dependent upon the wavelength of monochromatic light energy; a plurality of pairs of photoelectric detector elements disposed in said image plane, each said pair comprising first and second parallel elongate detector elements responsive to said light energy to produce output signals proportional to the intensity of light energy incident thereupon; a complementary periodic reticle mask disposed on the light energy incident side of each of said plurality of pairs of detector elements, each said reticle mask having first and second parallel linear arrays of alternating opaque and transparent segments, the arrays of each said reticle mask having a common spatial period and opposite spatial phase, said first array disposed on the light energy incident side of a first detector element of each said pair and said second array disposed on the light energy incident side of a second detector element of each said pair; each of said reticle masks having a combination of spatial period and phase which is different from the spatial period and phase of reticle masks disposed on others of said plurality of detector element pairs such that the transparent segments of one array of at least one said reticle mask transmit substantially more light energy in a periodic spatial intensity pattern than is transmitted by the transparent segments of the other said reticle mask array whereby one detector element in at least one of said plurality of pairs is illuminated with substantially more energy than the other detector element of said pair, and signal-processing means including means coupled to each detector element for producing signals representative of the sums and differences of the output signals of each pair of detector elements, and means coupled to each said sum and difference means for dividing the difference signal from each detector pair by the sum signal from each detector pair thereby producing signals representative of the periodicity of said spatial intensity pattern for each pair of detector elements, and thereby indicative of the monochromaticity of said light energy.

Claim 15

Apparatus for distinguishing monochromatic from broadband light energy comprising means for producing a spatial intensity pattern of said light energy in an image plane, said pattern Being periodic for monochromatic light energy, nonperiodic for broadband light energy, and having a period and phase which is dependent upon the wavelength of monochromatic light energy; a plurality of pairs of photoelectric detector elements disposed in said image plane, each said pair comprising first and second parallel elongate detector elements responsive to said light energy to produce output signals proportional to the intensity of light energy incident thereupon; a complementary periodic reticle mask disposed on the light energy incident side of each of said plurality of pairs of detector elements, each said reticle mask having first and second parallel linear arrays of alternating opaque and transparent segments, the arrays of each said reticle mask having a common spatial period and opposite spatial phase, said first array disposed on the light energy incident side of a first detector element of each said pair and said second array disposed on the light energy incident side of a second detector element of each said pair; each of said reticle masks having a combination of spatial period and phase which is different from the spatial period and phase of reticle masks disposed on others of said plurality of detector element pairs such that the transparent segments of one array of at least one said reticle mask transmit substantially more light energy in a periodic spatial intensity pattern than is transmitted by the transparent segments of the other said reticle mask array whereby one detector element in at least one of said plurality of pairs is illuminated with substantially more energy than the other detector element of said pair, and signal-processing means including means coupled to each detector element for producing signals representative of the sums and differences of the output signals of each pair of detector elements, and means coupled to each said sum and difference means for dividing the difference signal from each detector pair by the sum signal from each detector pair thereby producing signals representative of the periodicity of said spatial intensity pattern for each pair of detector elements, and thereby indicative of the monochromaticity of said light energy.

Claim 16

Apparatus as recited in claim 13 further including threshold detection means coupled to each said dividing means and producing a binary indication as to the relative level of each said dividing means output signal with respect to a preselected signal level.

Claim 17

Apparatus as recited in claim 14 further including indicating means coupled to all said threshold-detecting means which indicates the incidence of monochromatic light energy upon said apparatus when the output signal from any one dividing means exceeds said preselected signal level.