The Ever-Shrinking Spectrometer: New Technologies and Applications

Spectrometers, especially those operating in the near-infrared and visible, are today so small and such low cost that they can be embedded in consumer goods or sold directly to the public. This paper outlines what is available today in portable NIR spectroscopy, and how these instruments can be categorized; emerging applications of miniature spectrometers, especially those in consumer goods using embedded spectrometers and marketed directly to consumers; and caveats on these direct-to-consumer instruments.