Tunable filters for multispectral imaging of aeronomical features

• Discussion of a new technique using liquid crystal etalons for multispectral imagers.
• Feasibility analysis of a liquid crystal etalon for rotational temperature measurements.
• Deconvolution techniques for aeronomical investigations using liquid crystal etalon.
• Development of a four channel optical instrument using liquid crystal etalons.
• Simultaneous imaging of aeronomical features in multiple wavelength bands.

Multispectral imaging of optical emissions in the Earth’s upper atmosphere unravels vital information about dynamic phenomena in the Earth-space environment. Wavelength tunable filters allow us to accomplish this without using filter wheels or multiple imaging setups, but with identifiable caveats and trade-offs. We evaluate one such filter, a liquid crystal Fabry–Perot etalon, as a potential candidate for the next generation of imagers for aeronomy. The tunability of such a filter can be exploited in imaging features such as the 6300–6364 Å oxygen emission doublet, or studying the rotational temperature of N2+ in the 4200–4300 Å range, observations which typically require multiple instruments. We further discuss the use of this filter in an optical instrument, called the Liquid Crystal Hyperspectral Imager (LiCHI), which will be developed to make simultaneous measurements in various wavelength ranges.