Patent ID: 8559011

Claim:
A micro-spectral sensor, comprising: a focal plane array (FPA) having a plurality of sensor elements with sensing faces formed in a two-dimensional array in a focal plane; a wedge interference filter, comprising: a first side extending between first and second opposite ends in a first plane generally parallel with the focal plane of the FPA, a second side extending between a first end proximate the first end of the first side and a second end proximate to and spaced from the second end of the first side, the second side disposed in a second plane at a nonzero angle relative to the first plane of the first side, the first side extending between the second side and the FPA; a lens directing incoming light from a scanned scene toward the FPA through the first and second sides of the wedge interference filter; an electronic memory; and a processor operatively coupled with the FPA and the memory to: obtain a plurality of intensity measurement values from the FPA for each of a plurality of sample periods as a scene is scanned across at least a portion of the FPA along a scan direction generally parallel to a line extending between the first and second opposite ends of the first side, store the plurality of intensity measurement values in the electronic memory, correlate intensity measurement values from multiple sensor elements of the FPA obtained at different sample periods with at least one specific scene location, and perform a Fourier transform using intensity measurement values corresponding to the at least one specific scene location to generate spectral data for the at least one specific scene location.