Timo Hyvärinen

Direct sight imaging spectrograph: a unique add-on component brings spectral imaging to industrial applications

Imaging spectrometry has mainly been a research tool, employing laboratory spectrographs and scientific cameras. This paper describes an add-on imaging spectrography that provides a unique combination of high quality image in a small, rugged, industrial, easy-to-use component. The spectrograph is based on a prism/grating/prism dispersing element which provides straight optical axis, astigmatism free image and polarization independent throughput. A volume holographic transmission grating is used for high efficiency. The tubular optomechanical construction of the spectrography is stable and small, D30 X L110 mm with F/2.8 numerical aperture and 2/3 inch image size. Equipped with C-mounts, the spectrography plugs between lens and area camera, converting the camera to a spectral line imaging system. The spectrograph allows the utilization of rapidly developing monochrome camera techniques, like high speed digital cameras, smart cameras and CMOS sensors, in color and spectral analytical applications. It is the first component available for upgrading existing industrial monochrome vision systems with color/spectral capability without the need to change the basic platform hardware and software. The spectrograph brings the accuracy of spectral colorimetry to industrial vision and overcomes the complex calibration that is needed when an RGB color camera is applied to colorimetric applications. Other applications include NIR imaging, spectral microscopy, multichannel fiberoptics spectroscopy and remote sensing.

Imaging spectrometer for process industry applications

This paper presents an imaging spectrometer principle based on a novel prism-grating-prism (PGP) element as the dispersive component and advanced camera solutions for on-line applications. The PGP element uses a volume type holographic plane transmission grating made of dichromated gelatin (DCG). Currently, spectrographs have been realized for the 400 - 1050 nm region but the applicable spectral region of the PGP is 380 - 1800 nm. Spectral resolution is typically between 1.5 and 5 nm. The on-axis optical configuration and simple rugged tubular optomechanical construction of the spectrograph provide a good image quality and resistance to harsh environmental conditions. Spectrograph optics are designed to be interfaced to any standard CCD camera. Special camera structures and operating modes can be used for applications requiring on-line data interpretation and process control.

Novel spectroscopic techniques for biomedical applications

This paper describes two new spectroscopic techniques which are utilizing hybrid integrated optoelectronics particularly suitable for field and hand-held use. First, the LED module is based on a linear array of light emitting diodes and a fixed monochromator, and provides a solid-state electrically scanned source for pre-dispersive spectrometers. A prototype module operating from 810 to 1060 nm with resolution of 10 nm scans one spectrum in 19 ms and has a solid glass construction with dimensions of 4 X 4 X 7 cm. Potential applications include miniature, rugged and low cost instruments for transcutaneous blood and tissue spectroscopy in the near infrared (NIR) region.

Advances in hyperspectral LWIR pushbroom imagers

Two long-wave infrared (LWIR) hyperspectral imagers have been under extensive development. The first one utilizes a microbolometer focal plane array (FPA) and the second one is based on an Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) FPA. Both imagers employ a pushbroom imaging spectrograph with a transmission grating and on-axis optics. The main target has been to develop high performance instruments with good image quality and compact size for various industrial and remote sensing application requirements. A big challenge in realizing these goals without considerable cooling of the whole instrument is to control the instrument radiation. The challenge is much bigger in a hyperspectral instrument than in a broadband camera, because the optical signal from the target is spread spectrally, but the instrument radiation is not dispersed. Without any suppression, the instrument radiation can overwhelm the radiation from the target even by 1000 times. The means to handle the instrument radiation in the MCT imager include precise instrument temperature stabilization (but not cooling), efficient optical background suppression and the use of background-monitoring-on-chip (BMC) method. This approach has made possible the implementation of a high performance, extremely compact spectral imager in the 7.7 to 12.4 μm spectral range. The imager performance with 84 spectral bands and 384 spatial pixels has been experimentally verified and an excellent NESR of 14 mW/(m2srμm) at 10 μm wavelength with a 300 K target has been achieved. This results in SNR of more than 700. The LWIR imager based on a microbolometer detector array, first time introduced in 2009, has been upgraded. The sensitivity of the imager has improved drastically by a factor of 3 and SNR by about 15 %. It provides a rugged hyperspectral camera for chemical imaging applications in reflection mode in laboratory and industry.

Advanced pushbroom hyperspectral LWIR imagers

Performance studies and instrument designs for hyperspectral pushbroom imagers in thermal wavelength region are introduced. The studies involve imaging systems based on both MCT and microbolometer detector. All the systems employ pushbroom imaging spectrograph with transmission grating and on-axis optics. The aim of the work was to design high performance instruments with good image quality and compact size for various application requirements. A big challenge in realizing these goals without considerable cooling of the whole instrument is to control the instrument radiation from all the surfaces of the instrument itself. This challenge is even bigger in hyperspectral instruments, where the optical power from the target is spread spectrally over tens of pixels, but the instrument radiation is not dispersed. Without any suppression, the instrument radiation can overwhelm the radiation from the target by 1000 times. In the first imager design, BMC-technique (background monitoring on-chip), background suppression and temperature stabilization have been combined with cryo-cooled MCT-detector. The performance of a very compact hyperspectral imager with 84 spectral bands and 384 spatial samples has been studied and NESR of 18 mW/(m2srμm) at 10 μm wavelength for 300 K target has been achieved. This leads to SNR of 580. These results are based on a simulation model. The second version of the imager with an uncooled microbolometer detector and optics in ambient temperature aims at imaging targets at higher temperatures or with illumination. Heater rods with ellipsoidal reflectors can be used to illuminate the swath line of the hyperspectral imager on a target or sample, like drill core in mineralogical analysis. Performance characteristics for microbolometer version have been experimentally verified.

Thirty-two-channel LED array spectrometer module with compact optomechanical construction

A compact and versatile 32-wavelength spectrometer module has been developed based on a linear LED array and a fixed grating monochromator. The design includes all the optical, mechanical, and optoelectronic parts in a size of approximately 4 x 4 x 7 cu cm. The wavelength bands are scanned electronically without any moving parts. All the optical parts have been assembled to form a cemented solid glass construction, which is mechanically and thermally stable and well protected against water condensation or dust. The developed source module can be easily modified and has obvious advantages for spectroscopic analyzers, especially in process and portable applications.

Thermal hyperspectral chemical imaging

Several chemical compounds have their strongest spectral signatures in the thermal region. This paper presents three push-broom thermal hyperspectral imagers. The first operates in MWIR (2.8-5 μm) with 35 nm spectral resolution. It consists of uncooled imaging spectrograph and cryogenically cooled InSb camera, with spatial resolution of 320/640 pixels and image rate to 400 Hz. The second imager covers LWIR in 7.6-12 μm with 32 spectral bands. It employs an uncooled microbolometer array and spectrograph. These imagers have been designed for chemical mapping in reflection mode in industry and laboratory. An efficient line-illumination source has been developed, and it makes possible thermal hyperspectral imaging in reflection with much higher signal and SNR than is obtained from room temperature emission. Application demonstrations including sorting of dark plastics and mineralogical mapping of drill cores are presented. The third imager utilizes a cryo-cooled MCT array with precisely temperature stabilized optics. The optics is not cooled, but instrument radiation is suppressed by special filtering and corrected by BMC (Background-Monitoring-on-Chip) method. The approach provides excellent sensitivity in an instrument which is portable and compact enough for installation in UAVs. The imager has been verified in 7.6 to 12.3 μm to provide NESR of 18 mW/(m2 sr μm) at 10 μm for 300 K target with 100 spectral bands and 384 spatial samples. It results in SNR of higher than 500. The performance makes possible various applications from gas detection to mineral exploration and vegetation surveys. Results from outdoor and airborne experiments are shown.

Compact high-resolution VIS/NIR hyperspectral sensor

Current hyperspectral imagers are either bulky with good performance, or compact with only moderate performance. This paper presents a new hyperspectral technology which overcomes this drawback, and makes it possible to integrate extremely compact and high performance push-broom hyperspectral imagers for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and other demanding applications. Hyperspectral imagers in VIS/NIR, SWIR, MWIR and LWIR spectral ranges have been implemented. This paper presents the measured performance attributes for a VIS/NIR imager which covers 350 to 1000 nm with spectral resolution of 3 nm. The key innovation is a new imaging spectrograph design which employs both transmissive and reflective optics in order to achieve high light throughput and large spatial image size in an extremely compact format. High light throughput is created by numerical aperture of F/2.4 and high diffraction efficiency. Image distortions are negligible, keystone being <2 um and smile 0.13 nm across the full focal plane image size of 24 mm (spatially) x 6 m (spectrally). The spectrograph is integrated with an advanced camera which provides 1300 spatial pixels and image rate of 160 Hz. A higher resolution version with 2000 spatial pixels will produce up to 100 images/s. The camera achieves, with spectral binning, an outstanding signal-to-noise ratio of 800:1, orders of magnitude higher than any current compact VIS/NIR imager. The imager weighs only 1.4 kg, including fore optics, imaging spectrograph with shutter and camera, in a format optimized for installation in small payload compartments and gimbals. In addition to laboratory characterization, results from a flight test mission are presented.

Advanced portable four-wavelength NIR analyzer for rapid chemical composition analysis

This paper discusses the requirements for a portable infrared analyzer and presents the design of a four wavelength NIR analyzer utilizing the integrated multichannel detector technique for wavelength separation and detection. This technique, together with an electrically modulated miniature tungsten filament source and surface mount electronics manufacturing, provides a compact, rugged handheld instrument construction without any moving parts. Improved accuracy and short stabilization time is achieved through a combination of thermoelectric temperature stabilization in the four channel detector and a calculated signal compensation for the residual temperature error. Parallel analog phase sensitive detection of the detector signal maximizes the S/N ratio and maintains the simultaneity of the measurement. All composition calculations are performed in a microcomputer built inside the analyzer. The weight of the prototype analyzer is about 1 kg and a NiCd battery pack provides capacity for hundreds of single measurements or about 3 hours of continuous operation. Two prototype instruments have been fabricated with optimized NIR wavelengths for the moisture measurement of milled fuel peat on production fields. The accuracy of digitized two-wavelength signal ratios were tested in the laboratory over time and against temperature. Full accuracy is achieved in 10 seconds after switch-on and the maximum short time peak-to-peak variation in the signal ratios is 0.2%. The errors due to temperature fluctuations in the range from +2 to +50 degree(s)C are between -0.4 to +0.6%. The instruments were calibrated using 102 samples of Finnish milled fuel peat. the cross-validation testing of calibration gave a standard deviation of 1.6% (moisture by weight) compared to the reference method. Other applications for the analyzer are being planned in wood processing and chemical industries as well as in agriculture.

Thermal hyperspectral imagers and their applications

Thermal hyperspectral imagers provide information that conventional spectral imagers cannot. A broader range of materials can be detected, mapped, and sorted by thermal hyperspectral imagers in the mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and/or long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) spectral range than by imaging systems that operate in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) and short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) spectral regions. Previously commercially available thermal imagers were limited to Fourier Transform and chromotomographic imaging spectrometers, which have considerable limitations, i.e., only stationary targets can be imaged from stationary platforms.1 Push-broom instruments are the only means of producing spectrally and spatially accurate data when the target and/or the camera platform is in motion. These instruments are therefore ideal for use in aerial and ground-based remote sensing, as well as for industrial situations. In commercial and defense remote sensing, targets are typically at ambient temperature and therefore a high signal-to-noise ratio is required to reliably measure their thermal emission spectra. In industrial applications, where targets are hotter or can be illuminated, more cost efficient, lower sensitivity instruments may be utilized. Specim’s AisaOWL, LWIR-HS, and MWIR imagers exploit a combination of reflective and refractive optical elements with a transmission grating to achieve high performance in a compact device.2 This approach has not been used previously in any commercial or research instrument. The Specim AisaOWL employs a cryo-cooled MCT (mercury cadmium telluride) array, temperature-stabilized instrument optics, and its instrument radiation is suppressed by special filtering and corrected by BMC (background-monitoring-on-chip). It delivers a signal-to-noiseratio greater than 500:1 for targets in ambient temperature, noise equivalent spectral radiance (NESR) of 18mW/(m2sr m) for a Figure 1. An outdoor gas measurement experiment with the AisaOWL in an ambient temperature of 10C. The person on the left holds a can of compressed gas. As the gas, which includes the propellant 1,1,1-2tetrafluoroethane with a distinctive spectral signature in the LWIR, is released, it spreads towards the right. Against a warm background, the propellant gas is detected based on its absorption peaks in the radiance spectra (red spectrum); against a cold background, the propellant gas is detected based on its emission peaks (green spectrum). Value is spectral radiance in W/m2 sr m; the wavelength region shown is from 7600 to 12,400 nm.