<title>Imaging spectrometer based on white-light interferometry</title>

Abstract

Many applications of imaging systems require information about the spectrum of light that forms the scene. One way of deriving spectral information from a source is by calculating the Fourier transform of the temporal coherence function, as measured by a Michelson interferometer. This is the basis of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). With a phase-shifting spatial light modulator, it should be possible to construct a two-dimensional array of Michelson interferometers in order to derive independent spectral estimates for each pixel in a natural light image. Realistic constraints on the range of motion of mirror pixel elements will limit the spectral resolution of such a system, but these limits also allow the use of wide aperture imaging optics, and assure that the data processing burden is within the range of current digital technology.