Design and development of a miniature mid-infrared linear variable filter based spectrometer for environmental...

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Miniaturized spectral sensing systems are increasingly important for applications like IoT and autonomous platforms.
• The mid-infrared (3-4 µm) region is crucial for identifying polymer materials.
• Existing systems often face challenges in miniaturization and energy efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, construct, and evaluate a compact, energy-efficient mid-infrared spectrometer.
• To demonstrate the system's capability for polymer material identification.
• To address miniaturization challenges in spectral sensing system development.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a linear-variable filter (LVF) combined with an uncooled mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) linear detector array (LDA).
• Focused on the design and architecture to overcome miniaturization constraints.
• Collected spectral data from polymer samples.

Main Results:

• Successfully designed and constructed a compact spectrometer operating in the 3-4 µm range.
• Measured spectra of polyimide and polystyrene foils were obtained.
• Demonstrated the system's effectiveness for polymer detection and identification.

Conclusions:

• The developed compact spectrometer is suitable for polymer material identification in the mid-infrared spectrum.
• The system design addresses miniaturization challenges for spectral sensing applications.
• This technology holds promise for various distributed sensor and IoT applications.