Manufacturing of high-efficiency gratings for imaging spectrometry

ABSTRACT: We have successfully demonstrated under Phase-I the production of an improved convex blazed grating for hyperspectral imaging. The grating topology has been thoroughly characterized, grating efficiency measured and the grating performance -- in an imaging spectrometer -- fully characterized as well. The performances exceed those of holographic grating in all performance aspects and produce 3X improved efficiency. Under Phase-II we will manufacture several convex blazed gratings and spectrographs that cover all the common EO/IR spectral bands including UV-VNIR, SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR. We will demonstrate the performance of the full spectrometers in these ranges; all these sensors will be based on OKSI"s HyperScanVNIRmicro system, which is light weight, small size, developed for UAV type applications. We will work with several prime contractors that have assessed our work and are now interested in the new capabilities this program offers; this will help transition the technology to commercial use. We are also working with a manufacturer of CubeSat to develop a low SWaP-C hyperspectral payload for space-borne applications in nano-satellites. BENEFIT: As hyperspectral technology is maturing and entering operational service in greater quantities, perfor-mance and cost are still major drivers. This SBIR demonstrated under P-I, and will produce in P-II proto-type components that significantly improve performance at a drastic cost reduction compared with pres-ently manufacturing technology. Hyperspectral sensors are being inserted into military operations in theater and we will support such ac-tivities. In addition, OKSI will revamp its family of HyperScan instruments to cover the full range of EO/IR spectrum. These instruments are"turn-key"commercial products, and the SBIR will allow us to provide improved capabilities at lower cost. Finally, we will develop HSI sensors for the growing CubeSat market that provides low cost access to space for both government, and academia.