Over the past several years, Pacific Advanced Technology (PAT) has developed several hyperspectral imagers using diffractive optics as the dispersive media. This new approach has been patented and demonstrated in numerous field tests. PAT has developed hyperspectral cameras in the visible, mid-wave IR and is currently under contrast to the Air Force to develop a dual band hyperspectral lens for simultaneous spectral imaging in both the mid-wave and long- wave IR. The development of these cameras over the years have been sponsored by internal research and development, contracts from the Air Force Phillips Lab., Air Force Wright Labs Armament Division, BMDO and by the Office of Naval Research. Numerous papers have been presented in the past describing the performance of these various hyperspectral cameras. The purpose of this paper is to describe the theory behind the image multi-spectral sensing (IMSS) used in these hyperspectral cameras. IMSS utilizes a very simple optical design that enables a robust and low cost hyper-spectral imaging instrument. The IMSS is a dispersive spectrometer using a single diffractive optical element for both imaging and dispersion. The lens is tuned for a single wavelength giving maximum diffraction efficiency at that wavelength and high efficiency throughout the spectral band-pass of the camera. The diffractive optics disperse the light along the optical axis as opposed to perpendicular to the axis in conventional dispersive spectrometers. A detector array is used as the sensing medium and the spectral images are rad out electronically. POst processing is used to reduce spectral cross talk and to spatially sharpen the spectral images.

Date Published: 31 October 1997
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 3118, Imaging Spectrometry III, (31 October 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.278933

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3118:
Imaging Spectrometry III
Michael R. Descour; Sylvia S. Shen, Editor(s)