Pseudo-Monolithic Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer Interferometer
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Description:
The US Naval Research Laboratory has demonstrated a passive, broadband (8.4 to 11.2 µm), LWIR spectrometer with a resolving power of ~500 that has no moving parts, is immune to scene changes and has high throughput. It uses a compression assembly spatial heterodyne spectrsocopy (SHS) interferometer (C-SHS) which employs precision spacers that result in a robust, self-aligning, economical assembly, and enables easy replacement of optical components. The basic principle of spatial heterodyne spectroscopy is similar to a Fourier-transform spectrometer (FTS) in that it also features a beamsplitter which divides the incoming signal into two interferometer arms. However, in SHS, the latter terminate at fixed, tilted gratings that impose a wavelength-dependent tilt onto the diffracted wavefronts. After recombination at the beamsplitter and imaging onto a detector array, a complete interferogram can be recorded without using any moving parts.Advantages/Features Include:
- Rugged - no moving parts coupled with a self-aligning, nestled design.
- High throughput - performance comparable to field-widened FTS but much easier to design and implement field-widening concepts.
- Excellent on moving platforms and rapidly changing scenes - ideal in applications where jitter is a concern, such as airplanes or ground vehicles and for imaging fast events such as combustion processes or explosions.
- Reduced manufacturing cost - broadened optical tolerances coupled with simple, flexible design allows C-SHS to enjoy reduced costs and assembly time compared to traditional monolithic SHS.
Applications Include:
- Satellite remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere
- Planetary astronomy
- Laboratory spectroscopy
References:
- "Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy for Long-Wave Infrared: First Measurements of Broadband Spectra" Optical Engineering 48(10) (2009) 105602.
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Contact:
Naval Research LaboratoryTechnology Transfer Office, Code 1004
techtran@research.nrl.navy.mil