DiffuserSpec: spectroscopy with Scotch tape

Computational spectroscopy breaks the inherent one-to-one spatial-to-spectral pixel mapping of traditional spectrometers by multiplexing spectral data over a given sensor region. Most computational spectrometers require components that are complex to design, fabricate, or both. DiffuserSpec is a simple computational spectrometer that uses the inherent spectral dispersion of commercially available diffusers to generate speckle patterns that are unique to each wavelength. Using Scotch tape as a diffuser, we demonstrate narrowband and broadband spectral reconstructions with 2-nm spectral resolution over an 85-nm bandwidth in the near-infrared, limited only by the bandwidth of the calibration dataset. We also investigate the effect of spatial sub-sampling of the 2D speckle pattern on resolution performance.