A liquid crystal tunable filter based shortwave infrared spectral imaging system: Calibration and characterization

Calibration is a critical step for developing spectral imaging systems. This paper presents a systematic calibration and characterization approach for a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) based shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectral imaging system. A series of tests were conducted to validate the linearity of the system output, measure the field of view of the spectral imager, increase the system spectral sensitivity, test the spatial and spectral resolution of the system, evaluate the system stability and image distortion, and reduce the spectral noise of the system output. Results showed that the system had an angle of view of 6.98° and a spatial resolution of 158 μm. The spectral sensitivity of the system was corrected by controlling the camera exposure time and gain, which increased the signal to noise ratio of the system by 16.5%. Test results also verified the system spectral accuracy and linearity (r > 0.999). The system output was proven to be stable and image distortion was not perceivable. Results of calibration tests indicated that this system satisfied the design criteria in both spatial and spectral domains. The calibration methods presented here are applicable to the LCTF-based spectral imaging systems in other applications.

► A systematic calibration and characterization approach for the LCTF-based spectral imaging system.
► The system was fully calibrated and characterized in the spectral and spatial domains.
► Calibrations of spatial/spectral sensitivity/accuracy/resolution, SNR, image distortion, etc.
► Results showed that the methods used were effective and the system had a satisfactory performance.
► The calibration methods are applicable to other LCTF-based spectral imaging systems.