Spectral characterizations play the important roles in both scientific research and industry. Now, there is a growing demand for spectrometers that have the merits of miniaturized size, high-efficiency, and high spectral resolution. Here, a planar photonic chip containing a photonic band gap (PBG) with tailored dispersion relations is proposed to work as a high-efficient compact spectrographic device, taking advantages of its loading Bloch surface waves (BSWs). When this chip was attached to a prism, the angular dispersion power of the low-loss BSWs enhances the spectra resolving ability of this prism without any need for inversion algorithms or physical slits, thus resulting in high efficiency in utilizing the optical signals and retrieving the spectra. The spectra of various source, such as laser, white light, fluorescence emission, and even the Raman scattering light are characterized with the compact high-efficient spectrographic devices. The achieved spectral resolution can be as high as 0.6 nm.

We have developed a rapid detection instrument to characterize the behavior of light on the surface of devices during light–matter interactions. The equipment enables the non-destructive and real-time observations of the dispersion curves for microstructures, providing the basis for a large number of new planar photonic chip applications. The method is based on the traditional prismatic reflection and makes full use of the grating dispersion capabilities, enabling simultaneous multi-wavelength and multi-angle reflectance measurements over a wide range. This method is beneficial for designing new microstructure devices and brings convenience to delicate microstructure processing. The instruments do not require any mechanical scanning, allowing for rapid acquisition, and the integrated and reusable optics make them easily miniaturized. Additionally, the functionalized design allows for spectral analysis applications, such as far-field spectral measurements. The instrument can also be easily integrated into established microscopic imaging systems, extending their observational characterization capabilities as well as accomplishing dynamic monitoring in proven system-on-a-chip devices.