A spectral camera for producing a spectral output is disclosed. The spectral camera has an objective lens for producing an image, an array of mirrors, an array of filters for passing a different passband of the optical spectrum for different ones of the optical channels arranged so as to project multiple of the optical channels onto different parts of the same focal plane, and a sensor array at the focal plane to detect the filtered image copies simultaneously. By using mirrors, there may be less optical degradation and the trade off of cost with optical quality can be better. By projecting the optical channels onto different parts of the same focal plane a single sensor or coplanar multiple sensors can to be used to detect the different optical channels simultaneously which promotes simpler alignment and manufacturing.

The imaging assembly includes: a multi-band sensor (5), comprising a plurality of light sensors (7) each for measuring a light intensity returned by a target (8) in a predetermined frequency band; a sunlight detector (9), comprising a plurality of control sensors (11) each for measuring an ambient light intensity in one of the predetermined bands of frequencies of the multi-band sensor (5) each associated with a band-pass filtre; an electronic module (13) configured so as to calculate at least one characteristic variable value of the light intensity returned by the target (8) in each predetermined frequency band;
the sunlight detector (9) comprising a box casing (21), the control sensors (11) being attached to the box casing (21), the band-pass filtres (17) being attached to the box casing (21) each one so as to be facing the photosensitive surface of the associated control sensor.

The invention is directed at a miniature grism system. The miniature grism system is a single compact device that comprises a grism with collimating and focusing optics. In an aspect, the grism includes at least one prism and a grating. In an aspect, the miniature grism system, and more specifically the grism, includes at least one prism which is placed on either side of the grating. The focusing optics and the collimating optics are found on opposite sides of the grism system, sandwiching the prism and grating of the grism. In an aspect, the miniature grism system is configured to be retained within a filter wheel. The miniature grism system is configured to be used with telescopes having a small focal ratio.

An optical system includes an optical element and an optical filter with a first set of channels and a second set of channels respectively associated with a first region and a second region of the optical filter. The optical element causes first light beams and second light beams associated with a subject to respectively fall incident on the first region within a first incidence angle range and on the second region within a second incidence angle range. A first channel, of the first set of channels, passes, based on the first incidence angle range, a set of the first light beams that are associated with a first subrange of a particular wavelength range. A second channel, of the second set of channels, passes, based on the second incidence angle range, a set of the second light beams that are associated with a second subrange of the particular wavelength range.

System for performing chemical spectroscopy on samples from the scale of nanometers to millimeters or more with a multifunctional platform combining analytical and imaging techniques including dual beam photo-thermal spectroscopy with confocal microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence detection, various vacuum analytical techniques and/or mass spectrometry. In embodiments described herein, the light beams of a dual-beam system are used for heating and sensing.

A method for measuring the thickness of coatings on a substrate of an aerospace component comprises illuminating a sample comprising the substrate of the aerospace component and a coating with light waves of varying wavelengths from a light source, receiving the light waves reflected by the sample at a light collector, diffracting the light waves into a plurality of component wavelengths with a grating, detecting the light intensities of the plurality of component wavelengths at a detector array, generating a reflectance spectral curve using the detected light intensities for each of the plurality of component wavelengths, calculating the thickness of the coating from the reflectance spectral curves of the component wavelengths.

A detection device (113) for a microscope comprises a dispersive element (211) in the beam path (290) of light and a selection element (212). The selection element (212) separates a beam path (291) of a spectral portion of the light from the beam path (290) of the light. The detector device (113) furthermore comprises a focusing optical unit (213) configured to focus the beam path (291) of the spectral portion of the light onto a sensor (214). By way of example, the microscope may be a confocal microscope.

A tunable spectral filter includes a first tunable dispersive element, a first optical element, a spatial filtering element located at the focal plane, a second optical element, and a second dispersive element. The first tunable dispersive element introduces spectral dispersion to an illumination beam with an adjustable dispersion. The first optical element focuses the illumination beam at a focal plane in which a distribution of a spectrum of the spectrally-dispersed illumination beam at the focal plane is controllable by adjusting the dispersion of the first tunable dispersive element. The spatial filtering element filters the spectrum of the illumination beam based on the distribution of the spectrum of the illumination beam at the focal plane. The second optical element collects the spectrally-dispersed illumination beam transmitted from the spatial filtering element. The second tunable dispersive element removes the dispersion introduced by the first tunable dispersive element from the illumination beam.

An endoscopic imaging system for use in a light deficient environment includes an imaging device having a tube, one or more image sensors, and a lens assembly including at least one optical elements that corresponds to the one or more image sensors. The endoscopic system includes a display for a user to visualize a scene and an image signal processing controller. The endoscopic system includes a light engine having an illumination source generating one or more pulses of electromagnetic radiation and a lumen transmitting one or more pulses of electromagnetic radiation to a distal tip of an endoscope.

An imager for imaging a plurality of images of a single scene over a plurality of disparate electromagnetic wavelength sets includes front-end optics for outputting a polychromatic, collimated image beam of the scene; a beam displacer configured for splitting the collimated image beam into spatially displaced, mutually parallel beams, and an imaging-sensor array configured for registration of the spatially displaced wavelength sets at disparate locations along the imaging-sensor array. In alternative versions, the beam displacer displaces constituent light beams based on at least one of wavelength and polarization. In various implementations, a back-end focusing element focuses each constituent beam onto a predetermined location along the imaging-sensor array. The imaging-sensor array is optimally configured for simultaneous sampling of the plural images focused thereupon by the back-end focusing elements.