Performance of integrated silicon infrared microspectrometers

The performance of a microspectrometer fabricated in silicon using micromachining techniques is presented. The optical system is composed of two bonded silicon wafers, which have been subjected to microelectronic process compatible micromachining to co-integrate the optical components (an aluminum based grating, an optical path in crystalline silicon and array of poly-silicon thermo-couples) with readout circuits in silicon. Design considerations, fabrication and performance are presented. Measurements confirm an IR operating range between 1 and 9 μm and a half-power spectral resolution of 0.5 μm.