<title>LWIR/MWIR imaging hyperspectral sensor for airborne and ground-based remote sensing</title>

We describe the design and performance of an infrared imaging spectrograph that was first used as an airborne sensor in October, 1995. This instrument, called the spatially-enhanced broadband array spectrograph system (SEBASS), is intended to explore the utility of hyperspectral infrared sensors for remotely identifying solids, liquids, gases, and chemical vapors in the 2 to 14 micrometers 'chemical fingerprint' spectral region. The instrument, which is an extension of an existing non-imaging spectrograph uses two spherical-faced prisms to operate simultaneously in the atmospheric transmission windows found between 2.0 and 5.2 micrometers and between 7.8 and 13.4 micrometers (LWIR). ALthough the SEBASS instrument is designed primarily for use from an aircraft platform, it was used in March 1996 for a tower-based collection.