Extended-range spectroscope for intense radiation sources

Claim 2

A spectroscope for simultaneously providing spatial and spectral displays of a remote light source comprising: a plurality of viewing screens; a collecting optical system for receiving light from a remote source and focusing the light to a focal plane; a spatial imaging optical system for receiving a first portion of light from said focal plane for filtering and focusing said first portion of light into a spatial image on at least one of said viewing screens; and a spectral optical system for receiving a second portion of light from said focal plane for dispersing and subsequently focusing said second portion of light so that component waves are arranged in the order of their wavelengths in a series of spectral images on at least one of said viewing screens.

Claim 3

The spectroscope of claim 1 wherein the spatial imaging optical system comprises: a secondary objective lens for collecting said first portion of light from said focal plane; an image forming lens in optical alignment with said secondary objective lens for focusing said first portion of light onto one of said viewing screens; and a pass-filter adjacent to said image forming lens.

Claim 4

The spectroscope of claim 2 wherein said pass-filter includes filtering means for transmitting only infrared light.

Claim 5

The spectroscope of claim 2 wherein said pass-filter includes filtering means for transmitting only ultraviolet light.

Claim 6

The spectroscope of claim 2 wherein said pass-filter includes filtering means for transmitting only visible light.

Claim 7

The spectroscope of claim 5 further comprising: a pair of front-surface mirrors disposed between said secondary objective lens and said image forming lens for diverting a first portion of the image beam transmitted by said secondary objective lens away from said image forming lens; a second image forming lens in optical alignment with said pair of front-surface mirrors for receiving reflected light therefrom and focusing said light on one of said viewing screens; and a second pass-filter adjacent to said second image forming lens.

Claim 8

The spectroscope of claim 6 wherein said second pass-filter includes filtering means for transmitting only infrared light.

Claim 9

The spectroscope of claim 1 wherein the spectral optical system comprises: a light pipe for routing said second portion of light from said focal plane away from said focal plane; a collimating lens located at the exit end of said light pipe; a mirror disposed along the axis of said collimating lens; a reflective diffracting grating located in optical alignment to receive reflected light from said mirror and reflect dispersed light therefrom; and a spectrum forming lens located in optical alignment with said reflective diffracting grating to receive the dispersed light therefrom and focus said spectral images on at least one of said viewing screens.

Claim 10

The spectroscope of claim 8 wherein said mirror is a dichroic beam splitter for reflecting only ultraviolet light.

Claim 11

The spectroscope of claim 8 wherein said mirror is a dichroic beam splitter for reflecting only visible light.

Claim 12

The spectroscope of claim 8 wherein said mirror is a dichroic beam splitter for reflecting only infrared light.

Claim 13

The spectroscope of claim 8 wherein said mirror is a first dichroic beam splitter, and further comprising: a second dichroic beam splitter disposed along the axis of said collimating lens for reflecting visible light and transmitting other wavelengths; a second reflective diffracting grating disposed in optical alignment to receive the visible light reflected from said second dichroic beam splitter and reflect dispersed light therefrom; and a second spectrum forming lens located in optical alignment with said second reflective diffracting grating to receive the dispersed light therefrom and focus said spectral images on at least one of said viewing screens.

Claim 14

The spectroscope of claim 12 wherein said first dichroic beam splitter is constructed for reflecting infrared light and transmitting lower wavelengths.

Claim 15

The spectroscope of claim 6 wherein said second pass-filter includes filtering means for transmitting only ultraviolet light.

Claim 16

The spectroscope of claim 12 wherein said first dichroic beam splitter is constructed for reflecting ultraviolet light and transmitting higher wavelengths.

Claim 17

The spectroscope of claim 14 further comprising: a second pair of front-surface mirrors disposed between said secondary objective lens and said image forming lens for diverting a second portion of the image beam transmitted by said secondary objective lens away from said image forming lens; a third image forming lens in optical alignment with said second pair of front-surface mirrors for receiving reflected light therefrom and focusing said light on one of said viewing screens; and a third pass-filter adjacent to said third image forming lens for transmitting only infrared light.

Claim 18

The spectroscope of claim 15 further comprising: a third dichroic beam splitter disposed along the axis of said collimating lens for reflecting infrared light and transmitting lower wavelengths; a third reflective diffracting grating disposed in optical alignment to receive the infrared light reflected from said third dichroic beam splitter and reflect dispersed light therefrom; and a third spectrum forming lens located in optical alignment with said third reflective diffracting grating to receive the dispersed light therefrom.

Claim 19

A spectroscope for simultaneously providing spatial and spectral displays of a light source comprising: a collecting optical system for receiving light from a remote source and focusing the light to a focal plane; a spatial imaging optical system for receiving a first portion of light from said focal plane comprising; an objective lens located adjacent to said focal plane, means for dividing light transmitted through said objective lens into three light beams, a spatial screen having a first area sensitive to ultraviolet light, a second area sensitive to visible light, and a thiRd area sensitive to infrared light, an ultraviolet pass-filter disposed in the first light beam for passing ultraviolet light to said first screen area, a visible pass-filter disposed in the second light beam for passing visible light to said second screen area, an infrared pass-filter disposed in the third light beam for passing infrared light to said third screen area, a spectral optical system for receiving a second portion of light from said focal plane comprising; a light pipe for routing said second portion of light away from said focal plane, light dispersion means for receiving light from the exit end of said light pipe and dispersing light so that the component waves are arranged in the order of their wave lengths, and a spectral screen spaced from said light dispersion means for receiving and displaying the dispersed light transmitted thereon.

Claim 20

A spectroscope for simultaneously providing spatial and spectral displays of a light source comprising: a collecting optical system for receiving light from a remote source and focusing the light to a focal plane; a spatial imaging optical system for receiving a first portion of light from said focal plane comprising; an objective lens located adjacent to said focal plane, means for dividing light transmitted through said objective lens into three light beams, a spatial screen having a first area sensitive to ultraviolet light, a second area sensitive to visible light, and a thiRd area sensitive to infrared light, an ultraviolet pass-filter disposed in the first light beam for passing ultraviolet light to said first screen area, a visible pass-filter disposed in the second light beam for passing visible light to said second screen area, an infrared pass-filter disposed in the third light beam for passing infrared light to said third screen area, a spectral optical system for receiving a second portion of light from said focal plane comprising; a light pipe for routing said second portion of light away from said focal plane, light dispersion means for receiving light from the exit end of said light pipe and dispersing light so that the component waves are arranged in the order of their wave lengths, and a spectral screen spaced from said light dispersion means for receiving and displaying the dispersed light transmitted thereon.

Claim 21

The spectroscope of claim 18 wherein the collecting optical system comprises: a primary objective mirror for collecting incoming light and reflecting the light in a converging path, said primary objective mirror having a hole located therein; a secondary objective mirror located in front of said primary mirror for reflecting light from said primary mirror back through said hole in said primary mirror; and wherein said objective lens in the spatial imaging optical system is located within said hole of said primary objective mirror.

Claim 22

The spectroscope of claim 16 wherein said light dispersion means in the spectral optical system comprises: a collimating lens; a plurality of dichroic beam splitters disposed along the collimation axis of said collimating lens; a plurality of reflective diffraction gratings disposed in optical alignment with said dichroic beam splitters; and a plurality of spectrum forming lenses located in optical alignment with said gratings to focus light therefrom.

Claim 23

The spectroscope of claim 18, in the spatial imaging optical system, wherein said means for dividing light transmitted through said objective lens into three light beams comprises: a first mirror located in and intercepting a portion of the optical light path from said objective lens; a second mirror located in and intercepting a portion of the optical light path from said objective lens; a first image forming lens located in and receiving a portion of the optical light path from said objective lens; a third mirror located in optical alignment with said first mirror for receiving and reflecting light therefrom; a fourth mirror located in optical alignment with said second mirror for receiving and reflecting light therefrom; a second image forming lens located in optical alignment with said third mirror; and a third image forming lens located in optical alignment with said fourth mirror.

Claim 24

A spectroscope for simultaneously providing spatial and spectral display of a light source comprising: a collecting optical system for receiving light from a remote source and focusing the light to a focal plane; a spatial imaging optical system comprising; an objective lens located adjacent to said focal plane, a first image forming lens spaced from and in optical alignment with said objective lens, a visible range pass-filter located adjacent to said image forming lens for filtering light transmitted from said objective lens through said first image-forming lens, a screen spaced from said first image forming lens for receiving the visible image, means for relaying a portion of light passing through said objective lens away from said first image forming lens, a second image forming lens located in optical alignment with said relaying means; an ultraviolet range pass-filter located adjacent to said second image forming lens for filtering the light transmitted through said second image forming lens, an ultraviolet sensitive screen spaced from said second image forming lens foR displaying the ultraviolet image transmitted thereto, a third image forming lens located in optical alignment with said relaying means; an infrared range pass-filter located adjacent to said third image forming lens for filtering the light transmitted through said third image forming lens, an infrared sensitive screen spaced from said third image forming lens for displaying the infrared image transmitted thereto, a spectral optical system comprising; a light pipe having one end located in said focal plane for directing light falling thereon to a location outside the light path passing through said objective lens in the spatial imaging optical system, a collimating lens located at the output end of said light pipe, a plurality of beam splitters for dividing light passing through said collimating lens into beams of ultraviolet, visual, and infrared light, a plurality of reflective diffraction gratings in optical alignment with said beam splitters for dispersing said light beams over a spectral focal plane, and a spectral screen spaced from said gratings and lying within said spectral focal plane for displaying the dispersed light transmitted thereto.

Claim 25

A spectroscope for simultaneously providing spatial and spectral display of a light source comprising: a collecting optical system for receiving light from a remote source and focusing the light to a focal plane; a spatial imaging optical system comprising; an objective lens located adjacent to said focal plane, a first image forming lens spaced from and in optical alignment with said objective lens, a visible range pass-filter located adjacent to said image forming lens for filtering light transmitted from said objective lens through said first image-forming lens, a screen spaced from said first image forming lens for receiving the visible image, means for relaying a portion of light passing through said objective lens away from said first image forming lens, a second image forming lens located in optical alignment with said relaying means; an ultraviolet range pass-filter located adjacent to said second image forming lens for filtering the light transmitted through said second image forming lens, an ultraviolet sensitive screen spaced from said second image forming lens foR displaying the ultraviolet image transmitted thereto, a third image forming lens located in optical alignment with said relaying means; an infrared range pass-filter located adjacent to said third image forming lens for filtering the light transmitted through said third image forming lens, an infrared sensitive screen spaced from said third image forming lens for displaying the infrared image transmitted thereto, a spectral optical system comprising; a light pipe having one end located in said focal plane for directing light falling thereon to a location outside the light path passing through said objective lens in the spatial imaging optical system, a collimating lens located at the output end of said light pipe, a plurality of beam splitters for dividing light passing through said collimating lens into beams of ultraviolet, visual, and infrared light, a plurality of reflective diffraction gratings in optical alignment with said beam splitters for dispersing said light beams over a spectral focal plane, and a spectral screen spaced from said gratings and lying within said spectral focal plane for displaying the dispersed light transmitted thereto.