Metasurface-engineered thermal emitters enabled chip-scale mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing

Qin Chen; Hu Nie; Qinke Liu; Ning Tan; Ziwang Tuo; Jiahao Yan; Long Wen

doi:10.1186/s43074-025-00177-4

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Qin Chen, Hu Nie, Qinke Liu, Ning Tan, Ziwang Tuo, Jiahao Yan, Long Wen. Metasurface-engineered thermal emitters enabled chip-scale mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing[J]. PhotoniX. doi: 10.1186/s43074-025-00177-4

Citation:

Qin Chen, Hu Nie, Qinke Liu, Ning Tan, Ziwang Tuo, Jiahao Yan, Long Wen. Metasurface-engineered thermal emitters enabled chip-scale mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing[J]. PhotoniX. doi: 10.1186/s43074-025-00177-4

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Metasurface-engineered thermal emitters enabled chip-scale mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing

doi: 10.1186/s43074-025-00177-4

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Institute of Nanophotonics, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China

Funds: We are grateful for financial supports from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 62220106001, 12374351), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Nos. 2022B1515020069, 2023B1515020046), and the open project of the Key Lab of Advanced Optical Manufacturing Technologies of Jiangsu Province, Soochow University (KJS2333).

Received Date: 2025-03-28
Accepted Date: 2025-06-17
Rev Recd Date: 2025-06-04

Available Online: 2025-07-01

Abstract

Abstract

Miniaturized spectroscopy techniques show great potentials in on-site applications, with most progress focused on manipulating the spectral responses of either dispersion elements or detectors. Little attention was paid on light sources, while light source and its optical collimation unit left unsaid in most miniaturized spectrometers actually dominate a majority of the footprint and the cost of the entire platform. Here, we demonstrate light-source engineering as a new paradigm for developing a miniaturized spectroscopic sensing platform in mid-infrared (MIR), where spectral information of the analyte is encoded in the MIR image of a chip-size thermal source. An array of angle-insensitive metasurface sub-emitters that operate at various wavelengths enables a straightforward sensing method by decoding an image of the radiation intensity distribution. Accurate and robust classification of organic solvents and drug sorting, as well as quantitative concentration measurement of mixed organic solutions, were experimentally demonstrated with an imaging angle tolerance up to 40º. Moreover, spectral imaging was explored using this device, achieving distinct images of a plastic covered steel ring. By integrating the functions of light source, dispersion element and collimation unit in conventional spectroscopy platforms into such a chip-size metasurface thermal emitter, the proposed miniaturized MIR spectral sensing technique shows promising potential for portable and on-site material analysis.
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References(40)

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