US 12,449,307 B2
Multi-slit configured hyperspectral imager
Jason McKeever, Montreal (CA); Antoine Ramier, Montreal (CA); Hanford J. Deglint, Montreal (CA); Dylan Jervis, Montreal (CA); and Mathias Strupler, Montreal (CA)
Assigned to GHGSat Inc., Montreal (CA)
Filed by GHGSat Inc., Montreal (CA)
Filed on Apr. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/309,182.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/336,655, filed on Apr. 29, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0349759 A1, Nov. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G01J 3/28 (2006.01); G01J 3/02 (2006.01); G01N 21/31 (2006.01); H04N 23/10 (2023.01); H04N 25/78 (2023.01)
CPC G01J 3/2823 (2013.01) [G01J 3/0208 (2013.01); G01J 3/024 (2013.01); G01N 21/31 (2013.01); H04N 23/10 (2023.01); H04N 25/78 (2023.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hyperspectral imager comprising:
a plurality of slit apertures such that a specific portion of a scene is imaged multiple times through said plurality of slit apertures as a platform on which said imager is mounted traverses said scene;
at least one collimating lens through which images of said specific portion of said scene passes through after being received through at least one of said plurality of slit apertures;
at least one spectrally dispersive element through which images of said specific portion of said scene passes through after passing through said at least one collimating lens;
at least one imaging system for refocusing said images of said specific portion of said scene on to a focal plane pixel array; and
a plurality of pixels on said focal plane pixel array for receiving said images of said specific portion of said scene,
wherein
each slit aperture produces a hyperspectral dataset corresponding to a limited number of specific wavelengths of light received through said slit aperture, said imager configured to produce a plurality of hyperspectral datasets equal in number to a number of said plurality of slit apertures, wherein each of said plurality of hyperspectral datasets forms a section of a separate hyperspectral datacube; and
each of said plurality of hyperspectral datasets covers an entirety of said specific portion of said scene;
said imager further configured to produce a plurality of hyperspectral datacubes, after said scene is imaged, wherein each of said plurality of hyperspectral datacubes is produced by a different slit aperture; and
each slit aperture corresponds to a fixed number of n pixels of said plurality of pixels such that n<m, where m is a maximum number of available pixels.