“Compact Spectral Imaging” System Using Liquid Crystal for Fast Measurement

The authors propose a compact system for measuring a multispectral image within a short observation time. This system consists of a lens array and a polarization interferometer. The interferometer has two wedge-shaped liquid crystal layers. Images of an object created by the lens array are modulated with variable optical path differences by the interferometer and detected simultaneously by an image sensor. From the detected images, we can reconstruct the spectral image of the object. Experimental results are presented.