STTR Phase I: Curved Volume Phase Holographic Gratings: Efficient and High-Resolution Hyperspectral Imaging

这个小型企业技术转移第一阶段项目将开发一种全新的光谱仪-球面透射式光栅光谱仪(STGS)，它利用曲面体全息(VPH)光栅和球面反射镜相结合，在全视场范围内提供经过像差校正的光谱图像。预计到2026年，该市场将达到358亿美元，年增长率为18.4%。终端用户的范围从天文学到农业、制造业和第三方集成商(例如无人机公司)。目前的技术过于昂贵，或者不具备实际价值交付所需的大小、重量和功率(交换)特性。此外，在弱光条件下或在需要无像差高分辨率图像的应用中(例如，基于防御的成像)，市场上的当前技术不能满足客户的要求。这一解决方案有望解决这些问题。农业和国防是两个领先的市场应用，是这项技术的主要切入点。该项目的智力优势将使光谱学和高光谱成像(HSI)市场实现转型，实现低成本、高质量的图像质量光谱仪。该产品将是一种用于高光谱成像的新型球面透射式光栅光谱仪(STGS)。STG的初步设计是与北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的天文学家和南部非洲大望远镜的天文学家合作发明的，它使用球面反射镜和球面弯曲传输光栅的组合来提供完全像差校正的光谱图像，而不会出现场失真。他们的生产面临的挑战是这种球形体积位相全息(VPH)光栅的设计、制造和测试。这些光谱仪代表了光学光谱仪设计的新范式，该团队开发了一套STG设计，使他们能够建造简单、小巧和轻便的新一代失真和无像差光谱仪。该项目的主要目标是：1)开发符合设计和市场目标的曲面光栅制造工艺，2)设计和制造用于设计验证和高通量质量测试的原型试验台HSI，以及3)为F/2到F/2.5范围的STGS创建最终的光学设计。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop a completely new class of spectrometer, the spherical transmission grating spectrometer (STGS), which utilizes curved volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings coupled with a spherical mirror to deliver aberration-corrected spectral images over the full field of view. The market is projected to reach $35.8 billion by 2026, at an annual growth rate of 18.4%. End-users range from astronomy to agriculture, manufactures, and third-party integrators (e.g., drone companies). Current technologies are too costly or do not possess the size, weight, and power (SWAP) properties required for practical value delivery. Furthermore, in low light conditions or in applications that require aberration-free high-resolution images (e.g., defense-based imaging), current technologies on the market cannot meet customer requirements. This solution promises to solve these issues. Agriculture and defense are the two leading market applications and represent the primary entry points for this technology. The intellectual merit of this project will enable a transformation in the spectroscopy and the hyperspectral imaging (HSI) market by enabling low-cost, superior image quality spectrographs. The product will be a novel spherical transmission grating spectrometer (STGS) for hyperspectral imaging. Preliminary STGS designs, invented in a collaboration with astronomers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Southern African Large Telescope employ a combination of a spherical mirror and a spherically-curved transmission grating to deliver fully aberration-corrected spectral images with no field distortion. Challenges to their production are the design, fabrication, and testing of this spherical volume phase holographic (VPH) grating. These spectrographs represent a new paradigm in optical spectrometer design, and the team has developed a suite of STGS designs that will allow them to build a new generation of distortion and aberration free spectrographs that are simple, small, and lightweight. The key objectives for this project are: 1) to develop a curved grating manufacturing processes to match design and market goals, 2) to design and fabricate a prototype testbed HSI for design validation and high-throughput quality testing, and 3) to create finalized optical designs for STGSs in the F/2 to F/2.5 range.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.