Ultra-Wideband Portable MEMS FTIR Spectrometer Towards the MIR Spectral Fingerprint Region

Abstract

Portable infrared spectral sensors are gaining importance for instant on-field analysis, eliminating the need to wait for samples to reach labs. Miniaturization of Fourier transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometers based on the Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology has been proven to be one of the most promising approaches in this field of portable handheld spectrometers [1]. Most of the portable spectrometers are limited in wavelength range to the Near-InfraRed (NIR) where many technologies are validated [2]. However the widest reported spectral range for a MEMS FTIR spectrometers was 1470 cm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−1</sup> <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(&gt;6.8 \upmu \mathrm{m})$</tex> [3], which is on the edge of the fingerprint spectral region, one of the most important wavelength ranges for material identification [4].