Design of pushbroom imaging spectrometers for optimum recovery of spectroscopic and spatial information.

A modulation transfer function-based optimization method is described that generates optimal spectral and spatial uniformity of response from compact pushbroom imaging spectrometer designs. Such uniformity is essential for extracting accurate spectroscopic information from a pushbroom imaging spectrometer for Earth-observing remote sensing applications. Two simple and compact spectrometer design examples are described that satisfy stringent uniformity specifications.