The objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of producing a portable, self-contained hyperspectral digital camera able to capture and process detailed images in the Visible and Near-Infra-Red (VNIR) spectral range providing the basis for effective object detection and discrimination. This proposals objective is to reduce size and cost of the hyperspectral digital camera and make it a self-contained instrument by taking advantage of the recent developments in: Volume-phase concave holographic aberration-corrected gratings for flat-field detector arrays, Very-low noise, high sensitivity EMCCD image sensors with high quantum efficiency that multiply electronic charge directly in the charge domain before conversion to voltage, with programmed amplification and very low dark current, Miniature mechano-optical components (MEMS) in the form of the Digital Micro-mirror Devices (DMD High-performance, advanced image processing components optimized to handle the high-bandwidth data streaming.
Benefit: A miniature, self-contained, intelligent, networked hyper-spectral digital camera would be of immediate use to defense, commercial and security applications. Candidates for commercial applications include continuous high-value manufacturing yield management, medical diagnostics, manufacturing of cosmetics, etc with the need to detect and measure small changes in spectral properties that are difficult to discriminate with monochrome or tri-color cameras.
Keywords: DMD, DMD, EMCCD, USB, Hyperspectral camera, stand-alone, MEMS, cube storage, Smart
