Miniature Broadband NIR Spectrometer Based on FR4 Electromagnetic Scanning Micro-Grating

This paper presents a miniaturized, broadband near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer with a flame-retardant 4 (FR4)-based scanning micrograte. A 90° off-axis parabolic mirror and a crossed Czerny–Turner structure were used for creating an astigmatism-free optical system design. The optical system of the spectrometer consists of a 90° off-axis parabolic mirror, an FR4-based scanning micrograte, and a two-color indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) diode with a crossed Czerny–Turner structure optical design. We used a wide exit slit and an off-axis parabolic mirror with a short focal length to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the full spectrum. We enabled a miniaturized design for the spectrometer by utilizing a novel FR4 micrograte for spectral dispersion and spatial scanning. The spectrometer can detect the full near-infrared spectrum while only using a two-color InGaAs diode, and thus, the grating scanning angle of this spectrometer is small when compared to a dual-detector-based spectrometer. In addition, the angle signal can be obtained through an angle sensor, which is integrated into the scanning micrograte. The real-time angle signal is used to form a closed-loop control over the scanning micrograte and calibrate the spectral signal. Finally, a series of tests was performed. The experimental results showed that the spectrometer has a working wavelength range of 800–2500 nm. The resolution is 10 nm at a wavelength range of 800–1650 nm and 15 nm at a wavelength range of 1650–2500 nm. Similarly, the stability of these two wavelength ranges is better than ±1 nm and ±2 nm, respectively. The spectrometer’s volume is 80 × 75 × 65 mm3 and its weight is 0.5 kg. The maximum spectral fluctuation does not exceed 1.5% and the signal-to-noise ratio is 284 after only one instance of averaging.