Fabrication of a high-resolution smartphone spectrometer for education using a 3D printer

• Published in: Physics education Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 15010 - 15018
• Main Authors: Woo, Yura, Ju, Young-Gu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brecon IOP Publishing 01.01.2019; Institute of Physics Publishing
• Subjects: 3-D printers; Chemistry; Computer Peripherals; Education; Educational Technology; Fine structure; Handheld Devices; High resolution; High School Students; Light; Measurement Equipment; Molecular Structure; Optical design; Organic Chemistry; Physics; Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; Secondary School Science; Smartphones; Spectral resolution; Spectrometers; Teaching Methods; Technology Uses in Education; Telecommunications; Three dimensional printing
• ISSN: 0031-9120; 1361-6552
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/aaea0e

In this paper, we present the details of the development of a smartphone spectrometer for education using a 3D printer and characterized the performance by comparison with a paper craft spectrometer. The optical design and the narrow slit used in the build resulted in the formation of accurate images of the slit on the image sensor leading to a superior resolution compared to the paper craft spectrometer. The measured spectral resolution of the 3D-printed smartphone spectrometer was 0.4 nm, which was narrower than those of other smartphone spectrometers. Increasing the exposure time of the phone's camera revealed the fine structure of a spectrum with high resolution. The baffle structure inside the spectrometer proved to be effective in removing noise when the exposure time was increased. We expect the 3D-printed smartphone spectrometer proposed in this paper can be useful as an education tool for students to understand the various aspects of light, atoms, chemistry, and physics.