Filter Selection for Optimizing the Spectral Sensitivity of Broadband Multispectral Cameras Based on Maximum Linear Independence

Previous research has shown that the effectiveness of selecting filter sets from among a large set of commercial broadband filters by a vector analysis method based on maximum linear independence (MLI). However, the traditional MLI approach is suboptimal due to the need to predefine the first filter of the selected filter set to be the maximum ℓ(2) norm among all available filters. An exhaustive imaging simulation with every single filter serving as the first filter is conducted to investigate the features of the most competent filter set. From the simulation, the characteristics of the most competent filter set are discovered. Besides minimization of the condition number, the geometric features of the best-performed filter set comprise a distinct transmittance peak along the wavelength axis of the first filter, a generally uniform distribution for the peaks of the filters and substantial overlaps of the transmittance curves of the adjacent filters. Therefore, the best-performed filter sets can be recognized intuitively by simple vector analysis and just a few experimental verifications. A practical two-step framework for selecting optimal filter set is recommended, which guarantees a significant enhancement of the performance of the systems. This work should be useful for optimizing the spectral sensitivity of broadband multispectral imaging sensors.