Advances in performance and miniaturization of a FT-IR spectrometer system based on a large stroke MOEMS piston mirror

Standard FT-IR spectrometers are large, usually static, and expensive and require operation by qualified personnel. The presented development involves achievements in MEMS technologies and electronics design to address size, speed and power requirements and develop a fully integrated miniaturized FT-IR spectrometer. A suitably matched interaction of multiple new components - source, interferometer, detector and control and data processing - develops unique MEMS based spectrometers capable of reliable operation and finally results in compact, robust and economical analyzers. The presented system now aims at a high performance level to measure in the range between 5000-750 cm -1 at a spectral resolution better than 10 cm -1. The Michelson interferometer design and the desired performance put several demands on the MOEMS device. Amongst these, a mirror travel of ± 500 m and a minimal dynamic deformation of < /10 peak-to peak in combination with a large mirror aperture of 5 mm were the most challenging goals. However, a signal-to-noise ratio of 1000 is required to qualify a FT-IR system as a sensor for industrial applications e.g. process control. The purpose of the system, presented in this work, is to proof that this is feasible on the basis of MEMS technology and it is demonstrated that most of these specifications could be already met.