Researchers at Stanford University have developed a novel, miniature Fourier transform spectrometer with a linear architecture that works by sampling a standing wave. The spectrometer consists of an electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical (MEMS) mirror with on-resonance displacement of up to 65 µm, a thin photodetector, and an electrical back plane for actuating the mirror. The integrated device offers mirror stability and fixed relative alignment of the three components. The spectrometer has better than 32-nm resolution at 633 nm. Applications for this small, spectrally sensitive detection system are broad, ranging from color cameras to advanced biological sensors. Current detection systems use an external spectrometer system because the detector element itself is not spectrally selective. This is a novel method for making a spectrally selective detector that integrates spectral sensitivity in the detector to allow the spectral sensitivity to be controlled. Related Technologies This technology is based on principles and methods set forth in 99-141 "Method for Adaptive Spectral Sensing" US Patent #6,466,961 Another related compact transform spectrometer concept is described in 00-221 "Miniaturized Talbot Spectrometer" [ - ]

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a novel, miniature Fourier transform... [ + ]