A Photonic Spectrometer For Enhanced Sustainable Land Imaging

Under the NASA Earth Science Technology Office Sustainable Land Imaging - Technology (SLI-T) program, Northrop Grumman is building and demonstrating a fully integrated photonic hyperspectral imaging spectrometer. In this approach, lithographically patterned waveguides and planar lightwave circuits replace discrete free-space optical components and enable a miniaturized sensor package that acquires data in modes not possible with current imaging instruments. This summary presents our approach to the instrument design and optimization of the planar lightwave circuits for optical performance, packing density and manufacturability.