Feasibility of a standard for full specification of spectral imager performance

Abstract

The current state of the art of specifying spectral imagers falls short of what is needed. Commercial datasheets do not adequately reflect the performance of hyperspectral imagers offered as standard products. In particular, imperfections such as coregistration error, noise performance and stray light are rarely well specified. A standardized way to specify spectral imagers would benefit both developers and users of such instruments. The paper reviews the many different characteristics that are needed to describe various aspects of imager performance, and discusses possible ways to form figures of merit relevant to application performance. In particular, the product of quantum efficiency, optics transmission and nominal throughput (étendue) is shown to be a good figure of merit for radiometric performance. A list of about 30 characteristics is suggested as a standard for a complete specification of spectral imagers. For some characteristics, notably coregistration, it is necessary to establish a standardized measurement methodology.