No abstract

The availability of optical MEMS (Micro-Electro--Mechanical-Systems) is promising to revolutionize optical instrument design. We are developing a multiobject imaging spectrometer based on a commercially available optical MEMS -the Texas Instrument's Digital Micromirror Device (DMD)®. The micromirror array is placed at an image plane ofan optical system, and is used as a spatial light modulator to redirect portions ofthe image into the spectrograph. The programmability ofthe micromirror array allows the creation ofarbitrary "slit" patterns as input to the spectrograph. In addition, by controlling the dwell time ofeach micromirror individually, it is possible to adaptively extend the dynamic range of the spectral imaging system.