Redazione RHC : 17 October 2025 18:03
A team led by Professor Fang Lu from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University has announced the development of the world’s first sub-angstrom resolution spectral imaging chip, dubbed ” Yuheng .”
The research, published in the journal Nature under the title “Integrated lithium niobate photonics sub-angstrom snapshot spectral imaging” , represents a significant advance in smart photonics technology.
Despite its compact dimensions of just 2 cm × 2 cm × 0.5 cm, the chip offers a spectral resolution of R = 12,000 , allowing for the acquisition of a full spectrum for each pixel. This capability eliminates traditional limitations that have prevented the combination of high spectral resolution and imaging throughput until now.
According to Professor Fang Lu, the chip overcomes key challenges related to resolution, efficiency, and integration of spectral imaging systems, opening the way to numerous applications.
Among its potential applications, “Yuheng” stands out for aerial remote sensing, artificial intelligence , and astronomical observation . In the latter field, the chip is capable of capturing the full spectrum of approximately 10,000 stars per second.
This could dramatically reduce the time needed to observe hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way from thousands of years to less than ten. Furthermore, thanks to its miniaturized design, the chip can be mounted on satellites, allowing the cosmic spectrum to be mapped with unprecedented precision.
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