Acousto-optic tunable filter for spectral imaging

In this paper we present a noncollinear TeO2 Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter (AOTF) device for a hyperspectral remote sensing system with moderate spatial and spectral resolution. The single beam configuration of the device will make the imaging optics behind it very simple and thus will make the whole system more compact. The power compensated circuit design of the RF driver of the acousto-optic filter gives relatively high and consistent diffraction efficiency over the whole tuning range in visible. The device can provide about 4° viewfield angle and 5 mm active aperture. The preliminary results have illustrated the capability of the device to be used for spectral imaging. The operation principle of AOTF will be introduced and its optical properties will be analyzed in this paper. The configuration of the AOTF device we developed for spectral imaging will be described and the measured performance of the filter will be summarized.