McPherson Inc

McPherson, Inc. is a company specializing in precision optical instruments and systems for measuring and characterizing spectra. McPherson instruments measure intensity vs. frequency in various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. McPherson’s spectral test instruments are based on the dispersing properties of a diffraction grating and/or refractive prism.

The company began manufacturing spectral test instrumentation in 1952¹. The companies first spectral test instruments were rocket born spectrometers, used outside the earth’s atmosphere, to study the vacuum ultraviolet portion of the solar spectrum. These were followed by numerous laboratory models for vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy as well as versions for use in visible light and infrared regions.

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  McPherson monochromator in nose cone of rocket for exto-atmospheric, vacuum ultraviolet solar spectroscopy. Circa 1953.

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  McPherson 35-foot (11 m) focal length (10.6 m) grazing incidence spectrometer delivered in 1965/66 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The instrument remains in use today.

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  McPherson soft x-ray, extreme ultraviolet flat field grazing incidence spectrograph.

Now in its sixth decade, McPherson leverages core competency^{[clarification needed]} in vacuum fabrication, ultraviolet optical systems and high resolution spectral test and measurement instrumentation and spectroscopic technique to serve a worldwide customer base. Markets for end-user and OEM applications include research, metrology, aerospace and defense and semiconductor, pharmaceutical and nanotech equipment manufacturers. Recognized for its experience, innovation, and responsiveness, McPherson assists these customers in their respective pursuits.

McPherson instrument and system designs have been awarded US patents and operate in- and outside the general realm of light that is visible to the human eye (~400 to 800 nanometers.) Some unique and patented instruments from the company include:

- Monochromator Adapted for use in the Ultraviolet Region (US Patent No. 3,090,863)² modernized and still produced this Auto-focusing Normal Incidence instrument works best in the extreme ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet region (30 to 200 nm.)

- Ultraviolet Monochromator (US Patent No. 3,211,049)² modernized and still produced this grazing incidence Rowland circle instrument works best in the soft x-ray and extreme ultraviolet spectral region (1 to 30 nm.)

- Optical Grating Spectral Dispersion System (US Patent No. 3,409,374² constitutes a criss-cross Czerny Turner optical system that remains one of the most popular vacuum monochromators ever built. The optical design is capable of operation from about 105 nm to 10 micrometres in the infrared and features (patented) interchangeable gratings and a vacuum tight housing.

Additional patents (3,026,435) (3,161,769) (3,490,848) (3,433,557)² for easily exchangeable optics, ultraviolet light sources and detectors have also been granted.

Customers around the world include universities, research laboratories and corporate research and development groups. A sampling of customers include: 3M Corporation (USA), Aarhus University (Denmark), Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA), Caltech (USA), Daresbury Laboratory (UK), Ecole Polytechnique (Switzerland), Food and Drug Administration (USA), General Electric (USA), Hasylab (Germany), IBM (USA), Joint European Torus (UK), KAIST (Korea), Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA).

Company ownership: The Company was founded as McPherson Instrument Corporation by Paul McPherson ( - 1972) and operated as sole proprietorship¹ until 1967 when it was sold to now defunct GCA Corporation. It was operated as GCA/McPherson, a division of GCA Corporation, until 1981 when it was sold to D. M. Schoeffel. It was operated under various names: McPherson, Division of SI Corporation and also SI/McPherson. Currently the company is called McPherson, Inc. and remains a privately held company. It is headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts USA

See also

• United States Patent and Trademark Office

References

• Industry, official publication of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, August 1965
• Acton Beacon