6-channel CMOS-based instrument for optical absorption spectroscopy and chemical identification

A multichannel portable instrument for on-chip optical absorption spectroscopy is presented. The system can house photonic chips having up to 6 sensing sites operating in parallel, allowing real-time simultaneous detection of multiple chemicals. A 6-channel CMOS lock-in front-end performs the amplification and demodulation of the signals from the integrated light detectors, while an FPGA is chosen for signal acquisition and analysis. A digital real-time ratiometric processing cancels out the effect of laser power fluctuations to achieve high sensitivity in monitoring the presence of the analytes, as demonstrated with the detection of an acetone sample. Compact size for portability, real-time parallel detection and flexible FPGA processing make this system suitable for environmental investigations on many different pollutants, both in the near- and mid-infrared wavelength range.