High-performance nonscanning Fourier-transform spectrometer that uses a Wollaston prism array.

A high-performance nonscanning Fourier-transform spectrometer is reported that is composed mainly of a Wollaston prism array and a two-dimensional photodetector array. It is a substantial improvement over existing Wollaston prism based nonscanning Fourier-transform spectrometers because it offers finer spectral resolution and smaller size. Such spectrometers will find important applications in remote chemical and biological sensing, environmental monitoring, medical diagnosis, etc.