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HOME  SCIENCE  VOL. 371, NO. 6528  MINIATURIZATION OF OPTICAL SPECTROMETERS

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Miniaturization of optical spectrometers
ZONGYIN YANG
, TOM ALBROW-OWEN , [...], AND TAWFIQUE HASAN  +1 authors Authors Info & Affiliations

SCIENCE 29 Jan 2021 Vol 371, Issue 6528 DOI: 10.1126/science.abe0722

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Miniaturizing spectrometers

Optical spectroscopy is a widely used characterization tool in industrial and research laboratory settings for
chemical fingerprinting and analysis. High-end spectrometers are typically benchtop based with bulky optical
components, moving parts, and long path lengths, and they can deliver a wealth of information with ultrahigh
precision and bandwidth. There is, however, a drive toward miniaturization of spectrometers, in which con-
cepts in nanophotonics are used to control light on much smaller scales. Yang et al. reviewed recent develop-
ments in spectrometry systems, including various fabrication approaches of nanophotonics systems and the
software that computationally determines the spectra, that strive to shrink their footprint and open up appli-
cations in portable spectroscopy.

Science, this issue p. eabe0722

Structured Abstract
BACKGROUND

Optical spectrometry is one of the most powerful and widely used characterization tools in scientific and in-
dustrial research. Benchtop laboratory spectrometer systems—characterized by bulky optical components,
moving parts, and long path lengths—can deliver unparalleled, ultrafine resolution and wide spectral ranges.
However, a rapidly growing application space exists for spectral analysis where the need for reduced physical
dimensions, cost, or power consumption takes precedence over the need for high performance. The demand for
portable or handheld spectral analysis devices requires shrinking of these systems down to centimeter-scale
footprints. More extreme miniaturization to submillimeter length scales would open a range of opportunities
for in situ analysis, with potential for integration into lab-on-a-chip systems, smartphones, or even spectrome-
ter-per-pixel snapshot hyperspectral imaging devices. Toward this aim, an approach that involves simply scal-
ing down benchtop systems (with miniaturized gratings and reflective optics) becomes constrained as a result
of the complex fabrication involved and the inherent proportionality of resolution to path length in disper-
sion-based systems.

ADVANCES

A wide variety of miniaturized spectrometer systems have emerged since the early 1990s. These can be
grouped into four broad categories according to the underlying strategies they use for spectral characteriza-
tion: (i) those that have tried to push the boundaries of miniaturization using a conventional benchtop strat-
egy, where light interacts with miniaturized dispersive optics such that different spectral components are spa-
tially separated when arriving at a detector array; (ii) narrowband filters, which can be used to selectively
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abe0722 1/7
11/26/24, 8:55 PM Miniaturization of optical spectrometers | Science

transmit light with specific wavelengths, such that analysis of complete spectra can be achieved either with a
single filter (the transmissive properties of which can be varied over time) or by passing light through an array
of multiple unique narrowband filters, each mounted onto its own detector; (iii) Fourier transform systems,
where integrated interferometers [such as those based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) compo-
nents] can be used to produce temporal or spatial interferograms, which are then computationally converted to
a readable spectrum; and (iv) a newly emerging paradigm of microspectrometers, in which computational
techniques are used to approximate or reconstruct an incident light spectrum from precalibrated spectral re-
sponse information encoded within a set of broadband detectors or filters.

OUTLOOK

We now stand at a watershed where this field is yielding ultracompact microspectrometer systems with perfor-
mance and footprint near those viable for integrated applications such as lab-on-a-chip systems, smartphones,
and spectral imagers. Until recently, advancement has been inspired by and has benefited from wider techno-
logical trends in the production of hardware. For instance, earlier dispersion-based strategies have been im-
proved through optimization of high-precision microfabrication, lithographic, and etching techniques to pro-
duce ever more scaled-down gratings and optics. In parallel, the development of MEMS components has en-
abled ultracompact, electronically driven moving parts for miniaturized Fourier transform interferometer–
based devices. However, as the physical size and cost of processing power have fallen sharply over the past 15
years, the emergence of reconstructive microspectrometers has heralded a fundamental shift in the field, where
developments in the software will shoulder much of the burden for enhancing device performance while foot-
prints continue to shrink. Maturation of the algorithmic strategies behind these devices will likely see the in-
corporation of machine learning–based techniques, which increasingly will be able to compensate for the com-
promises in detector performance necessitated by further miniaturization. This represents a promising route
toward ultracompact high-performance systems and the emergence of spectral analysis in a host of previously
inaccessible platforms in scientific research, industry, and consumer electronics.

https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abe0722 2/7
11/26/24, 8:55 PM Miniaturization of optical spectrometers | Science

Strategies toward ultracompact microspectrometers.

Schemes for miniaturized spectral sensing systems based on dispersive optics, narrowband filters, Fourier transform interferometers,
and computational spectral reconstruction schemes have all emerged over the past three decades.

Abstract

Spectroscopic analysis is one of the most widely used analytical tools in scientific research and industry.
Although laboratory benchtop spectrometer systems offer superlative resolution and spectral range, their
miniaturization is crucial for applications where portability is paramount or where in situ measurements must
be made. Advancement in this field over the past three decades is now yielding microspectrometers with per-
formance and footprint near those viable for lab-on-a-chip systems, smartphones, and other consumer tech-
nologies. We summarize the technologies that have emerged toward achieving these aims—including minia-
turized dispersive optics, narrowband filter systems, Fourier transform interferometers, and reconstructive mi-
crospectrometers—and discuss the challenges associated with improving spectral resolution while device di-
mensions shrink ever further.

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References and Notes

1 C. P. Bacon, Y. Mattley, R. DeFrece, Miniature spectroscopic instrumentation: Applications to biology and chemistry. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 1–
16 (2004). 10.1063/1.1633025

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2 L. P. Schuler, J. S. Milne, J. M. Dell, L. Faraone, MEMS-based microspectrometer technologies for NIR and MIR wavelengths. J. Phys. D 42,
133001 (2009). 10.1088/0022-3727/42/13/133001

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3 J. Malinen et al., Advances in miniature spectrometer and sensor development. Proc. SPIE 9101, 91010C (2014). 10.1117/12.2053567

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4 M. Ebermann, N. Neumann, K. Hiller, M. Seifert, M. Meinig, S. Kurth, Tunable MEMS Fabry-Pérot filters for infrared microspectrometers: A re-
view. Proc. SPIE 9760, 97600H (2016). 10.1117/12.2209288

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