Measuring a target’s radial velocity is usually achieved using high-resolution spectroscopy; however, higher signal to noise ratios can be obtained using direct correlation spectrometers (DCSs). In our system, a liquid crystal spatial light modulator serves as the mask against which the incident spectrum is correlated, and the polarization is controlled to enable both in- and out-of-band light to be captured simultaneously. This offers enhanced performance against atmospheric scintillation and may also enable single-shot radial velocity measurements. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of our polarization-DCS and experimental validation is performed by acquiring radial velocity measurements of Venus.

Date Published: 6 September 2019
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 11132, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing IX, 111320V (6 September 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2530056

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11132:
Polarization Science and Remote Sensing IX
Julia M. Craven; Joseph A. Shaw; Frans Snik, Editor(s)