SBIR-STTR Award

Hyperspectral imaging is a technique used to simultaneously capture spatial and spectral information of an object scene, making it a valuable technique for applications in remote sensing and military battlefield environments. In the case of long wave infrared (LWIR) imaging, a hyperspectral approach offers an opportunity to improve upon the detection capabilities of standard broadband sensors such as bolometers. Currently, LWIR hyperspectral systems have a large Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) footprint making them difficult to include in practical systems such as those intended for integration into unmanned aerial vehicles. Lumilant is proposing a method for making narrowband LWIR optical filters that can improve the ability of the LWIR sensors to distinguish between a desired signal and self-emitting blackbody radiation. The design and fabrication of such compact optical filters can significantly reduce the SWaP of currently available hyperspectral imaging systems.

Benefits:
Several markets including remote sensing are impacted by the adoption of hyperspectral imaging technologies with benefits to both the commercial and defense industries. Specifically, some commercial applications that may benefit include agriculture, public health, forensics, atmospheric research and disaster management; while some of the government applications that may benefit include landmine detection, chemical weapon identification and intelligence gathering. In addition to the remote sensing applications, the data produced as a result of the growing hyperspectral imaging applications spreads the impact into software and data analysis applications by increasing the demand on improved techniques for acquiring, managing and analyzing data. This widespread impact justifies the advancement of technologies that can provide inexpensive and compact hyperspectral imaging systems.

Keywords:
LWIR, Optical Filter, Metamaterials, Hyperspectral Imaging, Tunable