Three generations of field-widened interferometer spectrometers have been developed at Utah State University for use in the visible and near infrared spectral regions. Field compensation for these instruments is accomplished using optical wedges, and an instrument throughput of AQ = 1 cm2sr has been achieved with a resolution of 2 cm-1. Measurement time gains compared with conventional interferometers of more than 100 have been demonstrated. Two of these instruments are cooled to 77° K to reduce instrument background and incorporate helium cooled Si:Bi detectors. The latest is a rocketborne interferometer utilizing CaF2 optics operating in the 2-8 I'm spectral region. The design criteria of critical components of the field-widened interferometer are investigated and techniques to fully utilize the large throughput obtained are discussed. Mea-sured gains are compared with theoretical gains, and future possibilities for this type of field-widening are explored. An airglow atlas of the night sky from 4000-10,000 cm-1 at a resolution of 2.5 cm-1 is presented to demonstrate instrument performance capabilities.

Date Published: 29 October 1979
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 0191, Multiplex and/or High Throughput Spectroscopy, (29 October 1979); doi: 10.1117/12.957806

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0191:
Multiplex and/or High Throughput Spectroscopy
George A. Vanasse, Editor(s)