Importance

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Abstract

An interferometer that may be used in an infrared spectrometer has a housing with a fixed mirror, a perpendicular moving mirror, and a beamsplitter diagonally between them. A moving bearing is mounted to a stationary bearing for translation back and forth along a longitudinal axis, and the moving mirror is mounted to a support member which itself is mounted to the moving bearing to allow pivoting of the mirror support member about a pivot point. A permanent magnet is mounted to the support member and extends along the longitudinal axis, with one of the poles of the magnet formed at the free end of the magnet along the longitudinal axis. A main magnet coil mounted to the housing has an inner bore which extends around the free end of the permanent magnet such that current supplied to the main coil attracts or repels the magnet to drive the moving bearing and the moving mirror in translation back and forth along the longitudinal axis. Side coils are mounted adjacent to the main coil perpendicular to each other to provide magnetic fields in orthogonal directions to the pole at the free end of the permanent magnet, to selectively apply torque to the support member about its pivot point and pivot the face of the moving mirror. The longitudinal position and the deflection of the face of the moving mirror from a perpendicular can be detected and controlled by control of current supplied to the coils.

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First Claim