Photon etc recently delivered a short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imager to Institut National d’Optique (INO) and will shortly release a second instrument to Photonic Knowledge, a Photon etc spin-off company which focuses on hyperspectral applications for the mining and petroleum industry.
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Sébastien Blais-Ouellette, CEO of Photon etc, explains the importance of this latest development: “The system allows new measurements in SWIR spectroscopy. It is a world premier in terms of spectral and spatial resolutions in the SWIR spectral range. We are confident that this kind of scientific instrumentation could have many potential industrial applications.”
Thanks to a unique and patented design based on volume Bragg gratings, the SWIR hyperspectral imager delivers a series of monochromatic images at user-specified wavelengths. This allows for spectral analysis of each and every pixel of a full resolution image, meaning no more fastidious x-y scanning of the samples.
Eric Roberge, CEO at Photonic Knowledge, believes this technology will open new markets for the company: “Thanks to this new instrument, we will be able to analyse more minerals, especially the ones with a signature in the SWIR spectral range. The instruments already in operation prove to be very reliable, but the spectral window is limited to the visible-NIR. With the SWIR model, Photonic Knowledge can now offer its clients a wider range of analysis for their mineralogical samples.”
Resulting in more than just an increase in efficiency, the hyperspectral imager provides data on both spectral and spatial content, allowing to perform new analyses and push the boundaries of the most demanding applications. With narrow resolutions of 4 nm and an operating range from 1000 nm to 2500 nm, Photon etc’s hyperspectral imager will boost the power of reflectance imaging and enable a range of new applications like vegetation cover monitoring or faint galaxy observation. No other technology — including imaging FTS, Fabry-Perot, acousto-optic, or liquid crystal — can compete with Photon etc’s patented hyperspectral imaging technology.