Single-chip CMOS optical microspectrometer

Numerous applications, e.g., systems for chemical analysis by optical absor ption and emission line characterization, will benefit from the availabilit y of low-cost single-chip spectrometers. A single-chip CMOS optical microsp ectrometer containing an array of 16 addressable Fabry-Perot etalons (each one with different resonance cavity length), photodetectors and circuits fo r read-out, multiplexing and driving a serial bus interface has been fabric ated. The result is a chip that can operate using only four external connec tions (including V-dd and V-ss) covering the visible spectral range of the spectrum with FWHM = 18 nm. Frequency output and serial bus interface allow easy multi-sensor, multi-chip interfacing using a microcontroller or a per sonal computer. Power consumption is 1250 mu W for a clock frequency of I M Hz. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.