UV-vis detector [Hardware]

This is not hundred percent programming related question, but I was not able to find answer on the net.

Is there some kind of detector to record frequency/intensity of l开发者_运维技巧ight radiation source? something like spectroscopy detector, but instead of actual machine, just the module which can be integrated in project. I have tried searching on Google but I do not even know what such device is called

if you know the more appropriate place to ask, can you let me know please.

Thank you

As far as I know, no sensor exists to directly measure the frequency of a visible light source. The final detector of automated spectroscopes is generally a (typically linear) CCD. The other parts of the spectroscope disperse the light into a rainbow-like spectrum, so reddish photons hit pixels towards one end of the CCD, and bluish photons hit pixels towards the other end of the CCD.

If you only want to discriminate a few frequency bands (rather than a high-resolution spectrum of hundreds of frequency bands), then things are much simpler -- you can either use a few color filters, or you can use a few LED of different colors.

"Think Small Revisited: Handheld Spectroscopy" by John Coates 2007

"Handheld Spectroscopy" from Ocean Optics

Andrey, did you consider asking in the group of W.S. Jenks at the ISU? They might have a portable OceanOptics spectrometer or know somebody who has. To get on-topic again, these nice thingies can be controlled though a Java-based framework.