MEMS spectrometer features ultra-small design

Hamamatsu Photonics has built an ultra-compact spectrometer using MEMS technology for use in portable and handheld devices.

The C10988MA measures 27.6 x 13 x 16.8mm and was developed for use in place of a standard mini-spectrometer, where these devices would be too large and consume too much power.

The C10988MA weighs 9g and combines Hamamatsu's MEMS and image sensor technologies.

It uses an aberration-corrected concave grating with a very short focal length and a blazed grating profile for high diffraction efficiency.

The grating is replicated onto the top of a convex glass lens using nano-print technology.

Directly opposite the grating is a dedicated CMOS silicon image sensor with an on-chip slit.

This 75um x 750um slit is formed into the CMOS chip using MEMS technology.

The distance between the sensor and slit is only 1mm, while the grating to image sensor distance is 8.5mm.

Through the use of the above techniques, the C10988MA can offer a spectral resolution of 12nm in the wavelength range of 340nm to 750nm, making it suitable for a range of visible light applications requiring a miniaturised spectrometer head.

To aid initial evaluation, a dedicated driver board, the C11351, with USB 2.0 connectivity and 16-bit A/D resolution is available.

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