Design of a flat field concave-grating-based micro-Raman spectrometer for environmental applications.

In order to simplify the design process of microfabricated concave gratings, simplified algorithms for fast characterization of the concave grating were developed. These algorithms can be used to assist system designers using ray-tracing software in the determination of optimum design parameters considering the requirements and restrictions for specific applications. According to the algorithms, it is feasible to design a flat field microconcave grating with a 4 mm grating radius as a key component in a micro-Raman spectrometer system for inline environmental monitoring applications. This microspectrometer operates over the spectral wavelength band from 785 nm to 1000 nm and has a spectral resolution of 2 nm at 900 nm. The total size of the system is 1 mm×4 mm×3.7 mm, making it one of the smallest for this wavelength range and spectrum resolution.