HIGH ETENDUE IMAGING FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROMETER

A high etendue imaging Fourier transform spectrometer which utilizes a two beam interferometer is provided. The high etendue imaging Fourier transform spectrometer is adapted to create an image of an entire target area with the resolution and throughput comparable to that of a Michelson interferometer based spectrometer yet does not require moving parts. The disclosed imaging spectrometer is comprised of various image forming optical elements; an two beam interferometer, which provides two interfering images at the image plane, resulting in the spectral autocorrelation modulation of the scene image; a CCD array camera to detect this interference modulated image; a scanning mechanism to translate the image scene through the autocorrelation modulated image plane thereby allowing a sequence of the modulated scene images to be recorded; a control system for operatively controlling the image forming optical elements, the scanning mechanism and CCD array camera; and an image data analyzer adapted for recording and processing the intensity modulation signal including the step of Fourier transforming the intensity modulation signal for each of individual scene area of the target which yields the spectrum associated with each scene area.