Apparatus for analyzing light having at least one wavelength, the apparatus comprising: (a) a light deflector for deflecting the light so as to provide a deflected light beam characterized by at least one wavelength-dependent angle, respectively corresponding to the at least one wavelength of the light; (b) an encoder, capable of encoding the deflected light beam so as to provide an encoded light beam characterized by at least one angle-dependent polarization state, respectively corresponding to the at least one wavelength-dependent angle; and (c) a decoder, for decoding the encoded light beam so as to determine at least one spectral component of the light.