Tapping hidden visual information: An all-in-one detector for thousands of colors

Spectrometers are widely used throughout industry and research to detect and analyze light. Spectrometers measure the spectrum of light--its strength at different wavelengths, like the colors in a rainbow--and are an essential tool for identifying and analyzing specimens and materials. Integrated on-chip spectrometers would be of great benefit to a variety of technologies, including quality inspection platforms, security sensors, biomedical analyzers, health care systems, environmental monitorin...