Infrared hyperspectral imaging polarimeter using birefringent prisms

A compact short-wavelength and middle-wavelength infrared hyperspectral imaging polarimeter (IHIP) is introduced. The sensor includes a pair of sapphire Wollaston prisms and several high-order retarders to form an imaging Fourier transform spectropolarimeter. The Wollaston prisms serve as a birefringent interferometer with reduced sensitivity to vibration versus an unequal path interferometer, such as a Michelson. Polarimetric data are acquired through the use of channeled spectropolarimetry to modulate the spectrum with the Stokes parameter information. The collected interferogram is Fourier filtered and reconstructed to recover the spatially and spectrally varying Stokes vector data across the image. The IHIP operates over a +/- 5 degrees field of view and implements a dual-scan false signature reduction technique to suppress polarimetric aliasing artifacts. In this paper, the optical layout and operation of the IHIP sensor are presented in addition to the radiometric, spectral, and polarimetric calibration techniques used with the system. Spectral and spectropolarimetric results from the laboratory and outdoor tests with the instrument are also presented. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America