Miniature and multi-spectral spectrometers in consumer goods and wearables

Richard A. Crocombe

doi:10.1117/12.2645879

15 March 2023 Miniature and multi-spectral spectrometers in consumer goods and wearables

Richard A. Crocombe

Proceedings Volume 12434, MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems XXII; 124340A (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2645879
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2023, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In the past twenty years optical spectrometers have shrunk dramatically in size, giving us successively laboratoryportable, toaster-sized, instruments; cordless-drill-sized portable instruments for use in the field; and onto spectrometers the size of a computer mouse or deck of cards. The latest development in portable spectroscopy is the availability of very low-cost multispectral sensors, the size of computer chips, leading to the possibility of embedding them into consumer goods, including personal health monitoring, and eventually into medical products. The width of absorption bands in the visible and near-infrared regions for condensed phase samples imply that an instrument with a small number of resolution elements will be able to perform routine analyses, and that spectral range is a more important parameter than spectral resolution. Multispectral sensors can now be incorporated into ‘fitness’ products like smart watches and sports watches, and as photonic miniaturization increases, into ‘wearables’ like smart rings providing the user with health information. Multispectral devices can be produced in volume via semiconductor and optical coating techniques, at very low cost - less than $10 each. Silicon photonics and photonic integrated circuits (PICs), produced en masse using semiconductor manufacturing techniques, are the ideal next step. This paper surveys the field and highlights some ‘smart’ consumer device possibilities from toothbrushes to toilets.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Richard A. Crocombe "Miniature and multi-spectral spectrometers in consumer goods and wearables", Proc. SPIE 12434, MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems XXII, 124340A (15 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2645879

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