Techniques for providing spectroscopic imaging integrates an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF), or an interferometer, and a focal plane array detector. In operation, wavelength selectivity is provided by the AOTF or the interferometer. A focal plane array detector is used as the imaging detector in both cases. Operation within the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions, and into the infrared spectral region, is achieved. The techniques can be used in absorption spectroscopy and emission spectroscopy. Spectroscopic images with a spectral resolution of a few nanometers and a spatial resolution of about a micron, are collected rapidly using the AOTF. Higher spectral resolution images are recorded at lower speeds using the interferometer. The AOTF technique uses entirely solid-state components and requires no moving parts. Alternatively, the interferometer technique employs either a step-scan interferometer or a continuously modulated interferometer.