STTR Phase I: An Ultra Compact and Low Cost Raman Analyzer Based on Slitless Volume Holographic Spectrometers

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research project is focused on the feasibility study of a new ultra-compact, low-cost, and robust low-resolution (around 1 nm) Raman analyzer system. The proposed system is based on slitless volume holographic spectrometers and has a better overall performance compared to the other systems based on conventional spectrometers. Reducing the size and the cost of the Raman systems are highly desired for different biological applications. Recently proposed slitless spectrometers that are based on volume holographic elements have the advantage of integrating the functionalities of several optical components into a single volume hologram. The proposed research is the feasibility study of developing a Raman system based on these slitless spectrometers. New innovative modifications will be considered to considerably reduce the size and the cost of the system. The proposed Raman analyzer will have a broad range of applications in the fields of biochemistry, medicine, pharmaceuticals, industrial quality assurance, homeland security, mineralogy, and environmental purposes. The ultra-compact and low-cost nature of the proposed instruments makes them a good choice of handheld sensing devices that are of high current demand in several fields mentioned above. The use of volume holograms (which are typically recorded in low-cost materials like photopolymers) to replace multiple bulky optics (e.g., slit, collimating lens, and grating of the spectrometer, and lens and thin-film filters of the excitation and collimation subsystems in a Raman analyzer) is an important enabling technology that can impact several applications (e.g., imaging and sensing) beyond the proposed functionalities.