Hyper-Spectral Imaging Focal Plane Arrays (HSI-FPA) have been developed for imaging in the Ultraviolet C (UV-C), 0.200 - 0.320 micron in wavelength, to the very long wave infrared (VLWIR), 8-16 micron in wavelength. The true potential of this newly developed and innovative technology is yet to be fully realized.
A diagram of the HSI-FPA is shown below.
It's most innovative aspects are (1) high sensitivity, (2) hyper-spectral tunability, (3) small pixel size, (4) high spatial resolution, and (5) compactness. It accomplishes this by using three separate arrays: a tuner Micro Fabry-Perot Inteferometer (MFPI) array for hyper-spectral tuning, a sensor MFPI array for sensing tuned bands, and a silicon detector array for detecting the visible beam.
The next figure is an example of an array of Micro Fabry-Perot Inteferometers (MFPIs) fabricated entirely on silicon by micromachining.
