Interferometry in the palm of your hand

By applying a proprietary MEMS technology, Hamamatsu Photonics has succeeded in developing a palm-sized Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) engine.

The high sensitivity to near-infrared light at wavelengths from 1.1 to 2.5 µm makes it possible to equip portable FTIR instruments for analytical applications, e. g. for real-time monitoring of chemicals, non-destructive measurement of moisture and layer thicknesses in production lines, and sorting of food or plastics. A sample is irradiated with IR light and the intensity of the transmitted or reflected light is measured for each wavelength to analyze the type and amount of substances contained.

Innovation:
The optical interferometer is the biggest part of such a device, making most FT-IR spectrometers bulky bench-top instruments. By using our own unique MEMS technology, Hamamatsu have reduced the size so the whole device fits on a palm, enabling interferometry within handheld systems.