Imaging fourier transform spectrometers for environmental sensing

Spectral imaging has become a powerful new tool in environmental remote sensing from both air and space based platforms with a variety of sensor designs now in routine operation. One of the sensing technologies that has an ability to collect spectral data over a wide band is the spatially modulated Fourier transform hyperspectral imager (FTHSI). These sensors have been shown to operate from the near ultraviolet to the long wave infrared and are particularly well suited for use in the longer wavelengths and for observations from moving platforms. Recent FTHSI research has discovered techniques capable of producing wavenumber spectral resolution and small, affordable, imagers with real time data analysis capabilities