Lightguide, Integral Field Snapshot Imaging Spectrometer for Environmental Imaging and Earth Observations

We present a fiber-based snapshot imaging spectrometer capable of imaging in VIS and NIR spectral windows. The system's principle is based on the application of a custom imaging fiber bundle to re-organize the input vs. output of the fiber structure. While, the input consists of densely populated fibers, the output provides void spaces between the fibers to accommodate spectral information and non-scanning datacube acquisition. Recently, we presented a proof of concept paper demonstrating the general system's capabilities [1]. The prototype, however, experienced significant light loss while still providing good imaging performance. This paper focuses on the throughput analysis and improvement of the light collection efficiency. We were able to define configurations that improve throughput by over 10+ fold and enable integration times below 1 ms. Here, we briefly describe the system's principle, discuss re-imaging configurations, and present examples of imaging results.