Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology developed an on-chip polarization-hyperspectral imaging sensor that records multidimensional optical data at 74 frames per second, according to research published in Nature Communications. The compact sensor pairs an image resolution of 2048 × 2448 pixels with 61 visible-to-near-infrared spectral channels and four polarization states, capturing polarization and spectral signatures simultaneously.
Conventional photodetectors capture only optical intensity, making snapshot acquisition across multiple dimensions difficult without complex external setups. To solve that problem, the research team created a multidimensional on-chip optical imaging architecture structured into three functional layers. A multidimensional encoding layer encodes incoming light, an image acquisition layer collects coupled intensity measurements, and a computing layer recovers the multidimensional images from a single snapshot measurement.
The authors demonstrated the device across complex operational environments. In practical evaluations, the sensor carried out polarization-enhanced hyperspectral imaging through haze, suppressed surface glare and reflections, and produced hyperspectral three-dimensional modeling with surface normal and height maps to assist machine perception under challenging optical conditions.
The study was conducted across the State Key Laboratory of CNS/ATM and the State Key Laboratory of Environment Characteristics and Effects for Near-space at Beijing Institute of Technology. Researchers Liheng Bian, Zhen Wang, and Jun Zhang hold Chinese patents numbered ZL 2024 1 0797667.2 and ZL 2022 1 0764166.5 on related device technology. Financial support for the research came from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 62322502, 624B2028, and 61827901, alongside the Beijing Natural Science Foundation.
