Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - xCLASS (Next generation Compact Lightsource And Spectrometer Systems)

Teaser

Increasing health awareness of citizens in Europe has led to an expanding demand for sensorial information. However, what is missing are novel and cost-effective methods to sense the desired analytes with high sensitivity, high reliability and a sufficiently small device...

Summary

Increasing health awareness of citizens in Europe has led to an expanding demand for sensorial information. However, what is missing are novel and cost-effective methods to sense the desired analytes with high sensitivity, high reliability and a sufficiently small device. Additionally, today there is a severe shortage in the European spectroscopy industry of graduates and PhDs with expertise along the complete technology supply chain for the development of optical spectrometer systems.

Photonic sensors, such as optical spectrometers, that convert physical quantities into readable signals, are becoming more widespread for metrology and security applications. But there is also an increased need of using spectroscopy in the process industry, food processing for yield improvement and for environmental control. Increasing health awareness of citizens in Europe has led to an expanding demand for sensorial information: many people want to know what they eat and what they drink, what air they breathe, if their water is clean and their housing is not detrimental to their health, whether their heating operates efficiently and their car does not produce too much pollution, whether the public places they enter are safe, etc. Processing of the spectral information, and the interpretation and dissemination hereof are already achieved using ICT and the broadcast infrastructure. First steps to extract spectral information by using ubiquitous smartphones have been made, however these cases are very limited and do not provide all required information with suitable accuracy. What is missing are novel and cost-effective methods to sense the desired analytes with high sensitivity, high reliability and a sufficiently compact and portable device, so that spectroscopic measurements can be carried out essentially everywhere.

To address these needs, technological breakthroughs are required to provide cost-effective high-sensitivity and high-selectivity measurement techniques based on photonic instrumentation, to bring diagnostic capabilities from the laboratory to the end-user, such as citizens, farmers, food retailers, food industry, public authorities, doctors, and even to the patient’s bed. But here we are facing a problem, today there is a severe shortage in the European spectroscopy industry of graduates and PhDs with expertise along the complete technology supply chain for the development of optical spectrometer systems. Training and education in all its aspects, namely in optical modelling and design, fabrication and prototyping, measurement and characterization, sensor readout and data analysis towards proof-of-principle demonstration and industrial valorisation of optical spectrometer systems is crucial but to our knowledge not offered today as a whole. xCLASS set up a training through research programme and as such address this shortage.

Work performed

During the first year of the xCLASS project there was a focus on setting up the xCLASS website, making promotional material and recruiting the 4 ESRs. Between May and September 2018 all ESRs started their PhD research.

Within the project ESR1 develops a miniaturized tuneable light source with a spectral range from 360 nm up to 1700 nm and a FWHM down to 10 nm for calibration of the miniaturize xCLASS spectroscopic modules and for spectroscopic measurements. The first year she focused on a miniaturized tuneable light source based on a piezo-actuated Fabry-Pérot Interferometer (FPI).

The work of ESR2 is to model and design a micro-spectrometer and demonstrate its proof-of-concept. First he was mainly working on the optical design of compact spectrometer systems. He proposed several optical configurations which could already partially meet the target optical characteristics of the micro-spectrometer. He has also been working on the replication of diffraction gratings and built an optical setup for diffraction efficiency characterization of the produced replicas.

Within xCLASS ESR3 focuses on the electronic control and read-out of the sensor for the micro-spectrometer, the processing of the data, prior to the assembly of the full-functional prototype. Calibration of an existing spectrometer designed by Anteryon was performed. To control and benchmark various needed sensors a PCB was designed and fabricated to readout the various sensors. Afterwards their main characteristics have been determined.

ESR4’s research project aims at reconstructing a wide-band spectrum signature using an automatic calibration procedure and inverse problem methods to compute higher-quality spectra, even when misalignments and fabrication errors are present. Two different types of computational spectrometer have been demonstrated and the spectral reconstruction has been achieved.

During the past period, two training events have been organized, namely a training event on optical spectrometer systems at Anteryon and a training event on the technology supply chain for optical spectrometer systems at VUB B-PHOT. Next to the xCLASS ESRs the latter event was also attended by non-xCLASS researchers. All ESRs also participated to individual trainings dedicated to their research work.

Final results

The training and research methods of xCLASS educate a new multidisciplinary generation of scientists who will enable Europe to take a leading role in competitive scientific, technological and economic developments, thereby substantially strengthening the European Innovation capacity.

Indeed, xCLASS is providing a unique and exhaustive training to 4 ESR fellows in the field of optical spectroscopy at PhD level such that, by the end of their training, these fellows will have acquired all the necessary skills and hands-on experience. xCLASS offers a well-established blend of interdisciplinary training performed both in academic and industrial conditions to reduce the time between research and development and innovation through demonstration and validation of new solutions and technologies in real world settings, in order to maximise their impact and help expand the European spectroscopy industry.

In addition, the fostering/creation of new collaborations, the sharing of new techniques and infrastructures between academic research groups and the industrial partner within the xCLASS consortium, lead to scientific breakthroughs and progress of the state of the art in the domain of optical spectroscopy (spectral range, spectral resolution, SNR and improved sensitivity, cost, compactness).

Website & more info

More info: http://xclass-itn.eu.