Method and apparatus for super montage large area spectroscopic imaging

In a method for reducing aberrations in a spectroscopic age comprising plural substantially contiguous sub-images having plural pixels each pixel having an initial intensity value, where the plural sub-images are each produced using an active optical imaging filter, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• (a) compensating for spatial aberrations using a processor including the steps of:
• (1) for each pixel in a select group of pixels:
• (i) determining a mean initial intensity value;
• and
• (ii) determining a spatially-filtered mean intensity value;
• (2) determining an overall average of the spatially-filtered mean intensity values;
• and
• (3) for each pixel in the select group of pixels:
• (i) determining a difference in intensity value between the spatially-filtered mean intensity value and the overall average of the spatially-filtered mean intensity value;
• and
• (ii) subtracting the determined difference in intensity value from the initial pixel intensity value;
• and
• (b) compensating for intensity aberrations.

In a method for reducing aberrations in a spectroscopic image comprising plural substantially contiguous sub-images having plural pixels each pixel having an initial intensity value, where the plural sub-images are each produced using an active optical imaging filter, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• (a) compensating for spatial aberrations using a processor;
• and
• (b) compensating for intensity aberrations including the steps of:
• (1) normalizing an intensity value for a select group of pixels in one sub-image as a function of an intensity value for selected corresponding pixels;
• and
• (2) recentering a mean intensity value for the select group of pixels.

A spectroscope for irradiating an object with light to thereby produce from the object scattered or emitted light for each of a plurality of wavelengths and to produce separately for each of the plurality of wavelengths a plurality of substantially contiguous sub-images of the object, where the spectroscope includes a processor programmed to perform a plurality of executable instructions, the instructions comprising:

• (a) compensating for spatial aberrations in ones of the sub-images for a select one of the plurality of wavelengths;
• (b) compensating for intensity aberrations between ones of the substantially contiguous sub-images for one of the plurality of wavelengths;
• and
• (c) combining the sub-images for the select one wavelength to thereby produce said spectroscopic image of the object.

A method for producing a corrected spectroscopic sub-image of an object comprising the steps of:

• (a) irradiating the object with light from a light source to thereby produce from the object scattered or emitted light for each of a plurality of wavelengths;
• (b) producing separately for each of the plurality of wavelengths a plurality of substantially contiguous sub-images of the object;
• (c) compensating for spatial aberrations in ones of the sub-images for a select one of the plurality of wavelengths;
• and
• (d) compensating for intensity aberrations between ones of the substantially contiguous sub-images for one of the plurality of wavelengths.