NASA has stated a need for novel system approaches and instrument designs to miniaturize and improve the performance of imaging cameras and spectrometers for multi- and hyper-spectral remote sensing applications. There are three major innovations involved in this device: (1) a liquid crystal tunable binary optics element (TBOE) array that is polarization sensitive and provides continuous spectral selection; (2) a fast switching Ferroelectric LC plate combined with the TBOE for orthogonal polarization selection; and (3) rapid switching between a broadband (unswitched) mode for acquisition, and a high resolution (switched) mode for discrimination. This miniaturized focal-plane array device provides reduced mass, volume and operating power. The Phase I effort will include the design and analysis of the proposed McSPI sensor module, an investigation of the microfabrication techniques required for the integration of the sensor, and the fabrication and demonstration of a proof- of-concept model.
