Hamamatsu C12880MA MEMS u-Spectrometer and Breakout Board

The Hamamatsu C12880MA micro-spectrometer is an update to the popular C12666MA that we used to carry. The C12880MA has higher resolution and greater sensitivity and is recommended for future designs and experimentation.

The Hamamatsu C12880MA MEMS micro-spectrometer detects wavelengths of light (i.e. colors) and their intensities. It succeeds the C12666MA with a greater sensitivity and spectral range. Its spectral response of 340-850 nanometers lies mostly in the visible spectrum yet extends to near infrared with 15 nm of resolution. The internal CMOS image sensor and optics are hermetically sealed to increase humidity resistance.

We have created a simple breakout board for Arduino with two different optical excitation sources for fluorescence spectroscopy - a super bright white LED and a blue 405 nm laser diode.

Hardware Overview