September 26, 2025
Breakthrough Dual Purpose Brimrose Instrument Now Commercially Available
Sparks, MD - A powerful and unique AOTF-based instrument that combines both a hyperspectral imager and spectropolarimeter into one package is now commercially available.
Brimrose’s new Polarization HyperSpectral Imager (PHSI) can easily switch from a hyperspectral imager to a spectropolarimeter and back again. There are significant advantages to having both in one instrument. For example, if one image is hazy, the other may provide significantly more information by adjusting the polarimetry.
The PHSI offers a significantly large number of bands that can be used in image post processing analysis to provide more accurate information than either one of the instruments by itself. When incorporated with waveplate/retarders, the imager system can be easily configured to measure all six polarization states needed for Stokes vector measurement on each pixel. The instrument can be used to develop ground based, airborne, or space-flight instrument with similar configurations, without pushbroom scan.
The AOTF device is controlled electronically, which provides the correct acoustic frequency driving the transducer as RF frequencies. AOTF hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has several advantages over traditional pushbroom HSI. Traditional HSI requires careful handling and frequent calibration. It also has lower scan speed and less reliability. An AOTF is an all-solid-state tunable filter with no moving parts and is therefore immune to orientation changes or severe mechanical shock and vibrations. Moreover, the AOTF is a high throughput and high-speed programmable device capable of accessing wavelengths at rates up to tens of kHz, making it an excellent tool for in-situ spectroscopy. Some of the key advantages of the AOTF HSI technology are summarized below:
Polarization Selection – AOTF can be used as analyzer for linear polarized light.
Fast speed – It can reach up to tens of thousands of wavelengths per second.
High optical throughput efficiency – As a result of a high- diffraction efficiency (up to 90%).
Increasing reliability and ruggedness. As a result of the AOTF being a compact solid-state device without any mechanical moving parts, it is insensitive to mechanical vibration/shock and can be battery powered. Temperature change induced shift of wavelength can be virtually eliminated by adjusting the acoustic frequency accordingly and thus can operate over wide temperature ranges.
The PHSI is available in both the VIS and SWIR ranges and can be customized per customer requirements in terms of camera frame rate or spatial resolution.
For more information, contact Jan Kasprzak at 410-472-7070 or jank@brimrose.com.