Increasing demand for field instruments designed to measure gas composition has strongly promoted the development of robust, miniaturized and low-cost handheld absorption spectrometers in the mid-infrared. Efforts thus far have focused on miniaturizing individual components. However, the optical absorption path that the light beam travels through the sample defines the length of the gas cell and has so far limited miniaturization. Here, we present a functionally integrated linear variable optical filter and gas cell, where the sample to be measured is fed through the resonator cavity of the filter. By using multiple reflections from the mirrors on each side of the cavity, the optical absorption path is elongated from the physical mm -level to the effective mm -level. The device is batch-fabricated at the wafer level in a CMOS-compatible approach. The optical performance is analyzed using the Fizeau interferometer model and demonstrated with actual gas measurements

This paper demonstrates the functional integration of a linear variable optical filter (LVOF) and a gas cell at the wafer level, i.e. a gas-filled LVOF, where the resonator cavity of the filter is also used for storing the gas sample. A mm-level effective optical absorption path length is achieved from a μm-level physical path length, by exploiting multiple reflections from highly reflective Bragg mirrors and the high-order operation of the filter. The wideband spectral response of the device is ensured by using a tapered cavity, where the cavity length changes linearly along the length of the filter. Therefore, combined with a detector array and a light source, the gas-filled LVOF enables wideband operation and long absorption path in a single MEMS device, thus ensuring a highly sensitive on-chip gas absorption microspectrometer.