Imaging spectrometer based on AOTF and its prospects in deep-space exploration application

The Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter (AOTF) is an electronically tunable optical filter based on Acousto-optic effect and has its own special compared with other dispersive parts. Because its characteristics of electronic tunable spectral selection, rapid response and simple structure, imaging spectrometer based on AOTF is a useful high-spectral technology, especially in deep space exploration applications. This paper introduces two imaging spectrometers, a VIS-NIR Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS) built as a payload instrument for lunar detection and a whiskbroom imaging spectrometer (WIS) with programmable spectral sampling. VNIS provides programmable spectral selection from 0.45 to 2.4 μm and includes two channels, a V-NIR hyper-spectral imager (0.45 to 0.95μm) and a SWIR spectrograph (0.9 to 2.4μm), with a spectral overlap of 0.05μm. WIS is a kind of scanning, spectral programmable imaging spectrometer, includes a scanning mechanism and a programmable spectral selection spectrometer. In the end, the prospects in deep-space exploration application are discussed.