Arrayed Micro-Ring Spectrometer System and Method of Use

NASA Langley Research Center has developed a novel spectral analysis system that provides rapid multispectral analysis and imaging in a miniaturized system design. Typical spectrometers make use of linear gratings with linear slits or charge-coupled device (CCD) arrays to separate and detect light in its component wavelengths to build a spectrum across a range of wavelengths. Such conventional spectrometers are difficult to miniaturize below a few centimeters. Creating an image with these systems also requires physical rastering of the light beam and detection system across an area to build up the individual data points of an image. The NASA Micro-Ring Thin-Film Spectrometer technology makes use of a microring grating to separate the component wavelengths of the light signal for detection and spectral analysis. Due to the miniaturized design obtained by Fresnel diffraction, an array of these micro-ring grating-based spectrometers can be constructed to enable extremely small-size, multi-spectral imaging of an analysis area.