Single-detector micro-electro-mechanical scanning grating spectrometer

A compact, robust grating spectrometer based on an optimised micro-electro-mechanical grating mirror component has been developed, built, and characterised. The application of an oscillating reflection grating micro-mirror component as scanning dispersive element in a modified Czerny-Turner monochromator layout enables the design of compact grating spectrometers capable of acquiring full spectra using a single detector element. Designed for a wavelength range between 1200 and 1900 nm, the spectrometer features a spectral resolution of 10 nm with wavelength stability better than +/-0.5 nm. One-hundred scan spectra can be acquired in less than one second, or spectral changes can be monitored at time a resolution of less than 10 ms. In combination with a fibre-optic interface and a typical weight of less than 1 kg, this makes this novel type of fully portable micro-electro-mechanical near-IR scanning spectrometer an interesting alternative to existing spectrometers and opens a range of new applications, in particular the detection of major and minor components in the near-IR.