Readout System for Multipurpose Real-Time and Portable Spectrometer

A ready-to-use spectrometer-based product, focusing on data acquisition using a BeagleBone board and a Hamamatsu C12666 spectrometer module is presented. The device meets stringent requirements, including the ability to measure the visible light spectrum over a wide range of intensities, be compact and lightweight, and have customizable electronics to suit different application needs. The system’s primary component is a Hamamatsu C12880 spectrometer module, with a measurement range of 341 nm to 780 nm, supplemented by supporting electronics such as a microcontroller and an analog-to-digital converter. The development encompasses hardware design, the fabrication of a control board, and software development for spectral acquisition and visualization. The software controls the spectral measurement process and facilitates data processing and analysis. The results demonstrate that the designed system can accurately capture spectra and fulfill the specified requirements. Additionally, this work investigates and evaluates the potential migration of the data acquisition system to Field-Programmable Gate Array technology. Such a migration offers several advantages, including real-time processing, parallel data handling capabilities, reduced latency, and greater flexibility in adapting to various spectrometer configurations as well as the possibility to work in a synchronized way with other devices. These improvements would significantly expand the system’s potential applications in real-time spectroscopy and other demanding optical measurement tasks. The proposed system thus provides a foundation for future enhancements that could exploit Field-Programmable Gate Array technology, potentially revolutionizing the efficiency and application scope of portable spectrometry devices.