A new type of spectrometer is tiny enough to be built into microchips and could even fit on the end of a human hair, according to the researchers who developed it.
A spectrometer is a broad term for an instrument used to measure a physical characteristic’s variation over a given range.
In this context, it refers to devices that measure the strength of light across different wavelengths.
This can have applications in many different areas, from astronomy and space exploration to medicine and environmental medicine.
Current spectrometers are comparatively bulky as they tend to require optical and mechanical components.
The smallest are currently about the size of a grape, making the new type, designed by a team of international researchers led by Finland’s Aalto University, a much smaller alternative.
The technique uses a combination of novel semiconductor materials and artificial intelligence (AI) to create an ultra-tiny spectrometer.
The semiconductors are effectively 2D, and the researchers’ proof-of-concept spectrometer can easily fit in a microchip.
Project leader Hoon Hahn Yoon said that it does away with the need to assemble separate optical and mechanical components or array designs to disperse and filter light.
He added that it is able to achieve a high resolution that compares favourably to other available systems but is built into a much smaller package.
Mini spectrometer could be used in anything from medicine to space exploration
It could be deployed in a number of different devices such as security sensors, quality inspection platforms, biomedical analysers and space telescopes.
The team said that the spectrometer’s design and AI-enabled control of the light colours it absorbs gives it a huge potential in both versatility and scalability.
Hoon said that it could easily be integrated into common devices such as drones and smartphones, potentially adding a ‘hyperspectral’ camera to your phone.
Such a camera could not only capture light that is visible to the human eye but also allow for infrared imaging and analysis – all from a smartphone or similar portable device.
Ethan Minot, a fellow member of the research team and professor of physics at the Oregon State University (OSU) College of Science, said that the spectrometer paved the way for all sorts of new everyday gadgets, as well as aiding scientific research.
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