Low-Cost VIS Spectrometer

Personal Project

A visible light (VIS) spectrometer was developed to analyze colorimetric assays as a low-cost alternative to commercial instruments, which can start at $400. The project's core innovation was building a functional spectrometer using inexpensive, household components. Housed in a 3D-printed enclosure, the design uses a standard webcam as the detector and a small section of a DVD as a reflective diffraction grating to disperse light. The system was calibrated using the known emission peaks from a compact fluorescent bulb, achieving a highly accurate pixel-to-wavelength conversion with an R² value of 0.9988. The spectrometer's performance was validated by successfully measuring the distinct absorption spectra of various biological pigments like chlorophyll and phycocyanin, proving its effectiveness for accessible scientific analysis.