Sometimes a little disorder is precisely what’s in order.
Taking advantage of the sensitive nature of randomly
scattered light, Yale University researchers have developed an ultra-compact,
low-cost spectrometer with improved resolution over existing micro models. The
innovation represents an advance in “lab-on-a-chip” technology, or the
consolidation of laboratory capabilities in miniature, highly portable devices.
“The largest dimension of our spectrometer, which we built
on a silicon chip, is about the width of a human hair,” said Brandon Redding, a
postdoctoral associate in applied physics at Yale and lead author of research
published online in the journal Nature Photonics. “It could open up a whole new
range of uses, a lot of them outside the lab.”