The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is the James Webb Space Telescope’s primary near-infrared spectrograph. NASA is providing the NIRSpec detector subsystem, which consists of the focal plane array, focal plane electronics, cable harnesses, and software. The focal plane array comprises two closely-butted λco ~ 5 μm Rockwell HAWAII-2RG sensor chip assemblies. After briefly describing the NIRSpec instrument, we summarize some of the driving requirements for the detector subsystem, discuss the baseline architecture (and alternatives), and presents some recent detector test results including a description of a newly identified noise component that we have found in some archival JWST test data. We dub this new noise component, which appears to be similar to classical two-state popcorn noise in many aspects, “popcorn mesa noise.” We close with the current status of the detector subsystem development effort.
Knowledge of a spectrograph slit function is necessary to interpret unresolved lines and spectral features in an observed spectrum. In a scanning spectrometer with a single exit slit, the slit function is easily measured by illuminating the entrance slit with a broadband source and scanning the dispersive element. In a fixed grating/or disperser spectrograph, the slit functions have been measured by illuminating the entrance slit with a monochromatic light using a premonochromator or a tunable laser and by varying the wavelength of the incident light. Generally these techniques are very expensive, complex or subject to a poor signal-to-noise ratio so that an accurate measurement is often not possible. Also it would be very laborious and prohibitive to an imaging spectrograph or a multi-object spectrograph that has many sets of entrance and exit slit equivalents. We explore an alternative technique that is manageable for the measurements and where the measurement is not limited by the available signal. In the proposed technique, a Fourier Transform
Spectrometer (FTS) is used instead of a pre-monochromator with variable wavelengths in the conventional techniques. This approach can be extended to the visible and ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range and to imaging spectrographs and multi-object spectrograph where multiple entrance slits and multiple exit slit equivalents (detectors) produce numerous different slit functions. In this approach, the advantages of FTS are fully utilized for available signals and the computer-assisted nature of FTS makes the data processing of the measurements manageable.
The measurement and long-term monitoring of global total ozone by ultraviolet albedo measuring satellite instruments require accurate and precise determination of the Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of laboratory-based diffusers used in the pre-launch calibration of those instruments. To assess the ability of laboratories to provide accurate UltraViolet (UV) diffuse BRDF measurements, a BRDF measurement comparison was initiated by the NASA Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Project. From December 1998 to September 1999, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), TPD TNO (formerly the TNO Institute of Applied Physics), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made BRDF measurements on four Spectralon diffusers used in the pre-launch calibration of three TOMS instruments. The diffusers were measured at the six TOMS wavelengths and at the incident and scatter angles used in the TOMS pre-launch calibration. The participation of GSFC, TPD TNO, and NIST in the comparison establishes a link between the diffuser calibrations of the on-orbit TOMS instruments, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and a national standards laboratory. The results of the comparison show that all of the BRDF measurements on the four diffusers agreed within +0.85 % to -1.10 % of the average BRDF and were well within the combined measurement uncertainties of the participating laboratories.
12 The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer - Flight Model 5 (TOMS- 5), aboard the QuikTOMS spacecraft, is designed to continue the measurement of the total column amount of ozone in the atmosphere in order to monitor the global trend. Since the predicted total ozone change due to man-made sources is very small, an accurate calibration of the measuring instrument is required. Since in the TOMS-5 experiment the total ozone amount is determined from the ratio of the measurement of the solar backscattered ultraviolet Earth radiance to the incident solar irradiance, the accuracy of the calibration of the instrument sensitivity to this ratio measurement is critical. The prelaunch calibration of TOMS-5 was designed to achieve a ratio calibration accuracy of 1% in addition to the uncertainties of the standards used. Multiple calibration techniques were employed to ensure the self- consistency of results of different techniques to eliminate any systematic errors. TOMS-5 prelaunch radiometric calibration was performed twice, one in 1996 and the second in 1999 due to the launch delay. The ratio calibration was reproduced within 0.5% from the tests of 1996 to those of 1999 while the calibration of the individual measurement modes agreed among the various techniques to within 1%.
The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) provides daily global mapping of the total column ozone in the earth’s atmosphere. It does this by measuring the solar irradiance and the backscattered solar radiance in 6 spectral bands falling within the range from 308.6 nm to 360 nm. The accuracy of the ozone retrieval is highly dependent on the knowledge of the transfer characteristics and center wavelength for each spectral band. A 0.1 nm wavelength error translates to a 1.6% error in ozone. Several techniques have historically been used to perform the wavelength calibration of the TOMS instruments. These methods include the use of film and reference spectra from low-pressure spectral line lamps and the use of continuum sources with a narrow-band scanning monochromator. The spectral transfer characteristic of the Flight Model 5 instrument for the QuikTOMS mission was calibrated using a new technique employing a frequency doubled tunable dye laser. The tunable laser has several advantages that include a very narrow spectral bandwidth; accurate wavelength determination using a wavemeter; and the ability to calibrate the instrument system level of assembly (prior methods required that the calibration be performed at the monochromator sub assembly level). The technique uses the output from a diode-pumped solid state Nd:V04 laser that is frequency doubled to provide a continuous wave 532 nm pump laser beam to a Coherent Model 899-01 frequency doubled ring dye laser. The output is directed into the entrance port of a 6-inch diameter Spectralon integrating sphere. A GaP photodiode is used to monitor the sphere wall radiance while a Burleigh Wavemeter (WA-1500) is used to monitor the wavelength of the visible output of the dye laser. The TOMS field of view is oriented to view the exit port of the integrating sphere. During the measurement process the response of the instrument is monitored as the laser source is stepped in 0.02-nm increments over each of the six TOMS spectral bands. Results of the new technique allow establishing the wavelength center to a precision of better than 0.1 nm. In addition to the spectral band measurements, the laser provided a means to calibrate the radiometric linearity of the QuikTOMS instrument and yield new insights into the stray light performance of the complete optical system.
TOMS has been the main satellite instrument for measuring the global distribution of the total atmospheric column of ozone since the first one was launched in 1978. The fifth instrument's launch is planned for August 2000. A key scientific objective of the TOMS mission is to monitor the trend of total global ozone, which requires the ability to detect a 1% change in ozone over a decade. This, in turn, requires high calibration accuracy and long-term stability in the TOMS ratio measurements between the solar spectral irradiance and the Earth spectral radiance. The calibration process requires not only knowledge of the radiometric response of the instrument, but also of various instrument characteristics to convert the instrument output to the value of the physical observable being measured. This is due to the fact that the object sources in measurements may have different characteristics from those of the radiometric standards, e.g., intensity, polarization, and spectral distribution; the process of calibration requires a complete set of instrument characteristics, e.g., linearity, spectral bandwidth, and straylight response, to compensate for the difference between the standards and the source being measured. This paper describes methodologies of the TOMS FM-5 prelaunch tests that are relevant to calibration.
Meteor-3M(2)/TOMS-5 is a cooperative joint mission between the Russian Space Agency (RSA) and the United States (US) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A US Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument is scheduled to be flown aboard a Russian Meteor-3M satellite in the year 2000. The main science objectives of the mission are to continue global total-ozone measurements to monitor long-term change in global total ozone, to understand processes related to the Antarctic ozone hole, and to improve the understanding of the processes that govern global total ozone. Secondary objectives are to measure aerosol amounts (dust, smoke, volcanic ash, and sulfates) and SO2. This paper describes the Meteor-3M(2) spacecraft, the TOMS-5 experiment, operations of Meteor- 3M(2)/TOMS-5, and plans for data processing, data archiving and distribution.
A proof-of-concept (POC) instrument system to measure cloud top height from space using three complementary techniques is presented. These techniques use measurements of (1) thermal infrared (IR), (2) molecular oxygen 'A' band absorption, and (3) filling-in of Fraunhofer lines (the Ring effect), respectively. Combining three techniques is achieved with a single grating spectrograph with bandpass and order sorting filters by measuring 11 micrometer radiation from the zeroth order of the grating for the IR, 750 - 780 nm radiation from the first order for the 'A' band absorption, and 390 - 400 nm radiation from the second order for the Ca K and H Fraunhofer line filling-in effect. The POC system and its measurement results with the POC system are described.
The improved TOMS instruments, flight models 3, 4, and 5, are to be flown aboard Earth probe (EP), Japanese ADEOS, and Russian Meteor-3M satellites, respectively. TOMS obtains the total column amount of the atmospheric ozone from measurements of the extra-terrestrial solar spectral irradiance and the backscattered earth spectral radiance at six ultraviolet wavelengths between 308.6 nm and 360 nm. The added scientific goal of new generation instruments is to monitor the trend of the global burden of the atmospheric ozone, which requires an accuracy of 1% in the calibration for the ratio of the radiance to the irradiance measurements. The emphasis of the prelaunch-calibration approaches was to maximize the accuracy in the ratio of the calibration for the two measurement modes and to minimize possibility of the systematic errors. The source geometry was maintained as close as possible in the calibration setup for the two measurement modes so that the uncertainty associated with the source could be canceled out in the ratio of the two calibrations. Also, multiple calibration techniques and radiometric sources have been used to check consistency of the calibration. The FM-3 calibration results show a three sigma standard errors of the mean for the ratio calibration that range from 0.28% to 0.63% in descending order of the wavelength.
Three TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometers) of a new design series are scheduled to be launched successively over the next several years. Changes have been made in the area of instrument calibration which should significantly improve the precision of TOMS ozone measurements over their predecessors. In the BUV method for determining ozone overburden, the precision of retrieved ozone amounts is directly related to knowledge of changes in diffuser reflectance. A three solar diffuser system employed on a previous TOMS proved capable of detecting a 0.25% (2 (sigma) ) ozone error over the three year mission. In addition to multiple diffusers, the new TOMS have on board a system for monitoring diffuser reflectance which alone should maintain instrument calibration with a precision at least double that of earlier TOMS. Improvements in prelaunch calibration techniques should result in closer inter- instrument agreement, an important consideration when measuring trends with multiple instruments. Unfortunately, the agreement between instruments is not likely to be better than about 1% ozone.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Point spread functions, Detection and tracking algorithms, Calibration, Signal to noise ratio, Detector arrays, Telecommunications, Digital signal processing, Free space optical communications, Laser applications
A proof-of-concept (POC) demonstration system has been developed which demonstrates acquisition, tracking and point-ahead angle sensing for a space optical communications terminal utilizing a single high speed area array detector. The detector is the 128 x 128 pixel Kodak HS-40 photodiode array. It has 64 parallel readout channels and can operate at frames rates up to 40,000 frames/sec with rms readout noise of 20 photoelectrons. A windowing scheme and special purpose digital signal processing electronics are employed to implement acquisition and tracking algorithms. The system operates at greater than 1 kHz sample (frame) rates. Acquisition can be performed in as little as 30 milliseconds with less than 1 picowatt of 0.85 micron beacon power on the detector. At the same power level, the rms tracking accuracy is approximately 1/16 pixel. Results of system analysis and measurements using the POC system are presented.
The instantaneous velocity fields of time-dependent flows, or of a collection of objects moving with spatially varying velocities, can be measured by means of digital image velocimetry (DIV). DIV overcomes several shortcomings of such existing techniques as laser-speckle or particle-image velocimetry. Attention is presently given to numerically generated images representing objects in uniform motion which are then used for the experimental validation of DIV.
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