Domestic researchers have developed a small-sized high-resolution spectrometer using a "metasurface" that generates unique yet predictable random patterns depending on the color of light. With a size of less than 1 cm, smaller than a fingernail, it can be integrated into smartphones or wearable devices, making its applicability high.
Prof. Jang Mu-seok and his research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on the 13th that they have developed spectrometer technology utilizing a dual-layer disordered metasurface. The dual-layer metasurface is an optical device that creates unique random patterns by scattering light in a complex manner using two layers of disordered structural layers.
A spectrometer is an optical device that decomposes light by wavelength to analyze physical properties, used in various fields such as material analysis, chemical component detection, and life sciences research. However, existing high-resolution spectrometers are large, measuring tens of centimeters, and require complex calibration processes to maintain accuracy.
The research team developed a method to create random patterns according to the wavelength of light using a dual-layer disordered metasurface, restoring precise information about the light based on these patterns. As a result, they succeeded in accurately measuring visible to infrared light at a high resolution of 1 nm (nanometer, one billionth of a meter) in a device smaller than a fingernail.
Lee Dong-gu, a researcher who participated as the first author in this study, said, "This technology is implemented in a way that is directly integrated into commercial image sensors, so in the future, we will be able to easily obtain and utilize wavelength information of light in everyday life with devices built into mobile devices."
Prof. Jang Mu-seok noted, "I expect research on applications in various fields such as food ingredient analysis, crop status diagnosis, skin health measurement, environmental pollution detection, and bio-medical diagnostics," and added, "It can also be expanded with various advanced optical technologies such as ultrafast imaging technology that captures phenomena occurring in very short time frames."
The research results were published online in the international journal "Science Advances" on May 28.
References
Science Advances (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv2376