Mid-Wave Infrared Camera for High Speed Hyperspectral Imaging

The MWIR imaging system acquired under the DURIP grant was incorporated into a rotating compensator imaging polarimeter. In such systems, several images of the target scene are captured through a retarder and analyzer, with the retarder rotated to a different orientation for each image. With each retarder position, the system is sensitive to a different polarization state at the input. By collecting data with the retarder in several positions, the entire polarization state of the light entering the system can be reconstructed. Since the polarimeter in question is an imaging instrument, a polarization state is reconstructed at every pixel of the scene.