Mr Pei Chin, Ryan Chung
Dr Wei Mong Tsang
Ms Kat KWAN
Mr Chi Tin Luk
Dr Chun ZHANG
Dr Dick Kwok
Dr Sui Lung Lui
Dr Cyrus Chan
Mr Arsenic Sze
Mr Sunny Chen
Mr Kam Lai Wong
With growing public and government concerns on food safety and quality (FSQ), there is a huge market for a low-cost and portable device for on-site FSQ screening. The global market for food safety testing products is expected to reach US$ 20B by 2018. Though dispersive-type spectrophotometer is a proven technique for FSQ screening, its entrance slit structure imposes inherent tradeoff among its cost, size and performance and limits its attractiveness for on-site application. In this project, we propose to use spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS) to replace dispersive element in spectrum separation. Without the slit structure, the spectrometer allows a higher optical throughput, which results in a higher signal-to-noise ratio, a shorter scanning time, and better resolution compared with traditional dispersive device. We aim at studying the feasibility of building a SHS, with a spectral range from 200 to 600 nm, using off-the-shelf components for on-site food pesticide residue screening. The wide spectral range requirement for the pesticide screening will be realized by diffraction grating stacking architecture. Also, we will perform a feasibility study on leveraging micro-fabrication technology for optical components to further reduce cost and size of the device.
