Advances in handheld spectral sensors and systems

Spectrometer system designs have evolved rapidly over the last decade after a major paradigm shift occurred as spectroscopy systems advanced from bulky lab based instruments to the modern compact, flexible, and portable instruments we see today. Previously, these complicated tabletop laboratory instruments required controlled conditions to function and were extremely expensive. That changed with the introduction of compact fiber coupled microspectrometers that combined innovative compact designs with low-cost detectors developed for high volume commercial applications. The miniature spectrometer dramatically broadened the applications and markets for spectroscopy. No longer did users have to carry the sample to the spectrometer, now they could take the spectrometer to the sample enabling thousands of new applications. Over time, the performance and benefits of these compact systems have improved. The recent development of CMOS sensors and imagers and extremely powerful compact microprocessors has enabled a new phase of even more compact spectroscopy systems.