Laboratory calibration of the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer for the Solar-B satellite

The laboratory end-to-end testing of the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) for the Solar-B satellite is reported. A short overview of the EIS, which observes in two bands in the extreme-ultraviolet wavelength range, is given. The calibration apparatus is described, including details of the light sources used. The data reduction and analysis procedure are outlined. The wavelength calibration using a Penning source to illuminate the aperture fully is presented. We discuss the aperture determination using a radiometrically calibrated hollow-cathode-based source. We then give an account of the predicted and measured efficiencies from consideration of the efficiencies of individual optical elements in first order, an account of efficiencies out of band when radiation incident in one band is detected in the other, and efficiencies in multiple orders. The efficiencies measured in first order for in band and out of band are compared with the predictions and the sensitivity, and its uncertainties are derived. Application of the radiometric calibration is discussed.     

Full-range k-domain linearization in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography

A full-bandwidth k-domain linearization method for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is demonstrated. The method uses information of the wavenumber-pixel-position provided by a translating-slit-based wavelength filter. For calibration purposes, the filter is placed either after a broadband source or at the end of the sample path, and the filtered spectrum with a narrowed line width (～0.5?nm) is incident on a line-scan camera in the detection path. The wavelength-swept spectra are co-registered with the pixel positions according to their central wavelengths, which can be automatically measured with an optical spectrum analyzer. For imaging, the method does not require a filter or a software recalibration algorithm; it simply resamples the OCT signal from the detector array without employing rescaling or interpolation methods. The accuracy of k-linearization is maximized by increasing the k-linearization order, which is known to be a crucial parameter for maintaining a narrow point-spread function (PSF) width at increasing depths. The broadening effect is studied by changing the k-linearization order by undersampling to search for the optimal value. The system provides more position information, surpassing the optimum without compromising the imaging speed. The proposed full-range k-domain linearization method can be applied to SD-OCT systems to simplify their hardware/software, increase their speed, and improve the axial image resolution. The experimentally measured width of PSF in air has an FWHM of 8?μm at the edge of the axial measurement range. At an imaging depth of 2.5?mm, the sensitivity of the full-range calibration case drops less than 10?dB compared with the uncompensated case.     

Initial analysis of ocean color data from the ocean color and temperature scanner. II. Geometric and radiometric analysis

We assessed the geometric and radiometric performance of the ocean color and temperature scanner (OCTS) using data acquired over the United States. Initial results indicated a geometric offset in the along-track direction of 4-5 pixels that was attributed to a tilt bias. OCTS radiometric data appeared to suffer from near-field and possibly far-field scatter effects. Analysis of radiometric stability was inconclusive because of daily variability and the absence of a full seasonal cycle. Comparison of OCTS-computed water-leaving radiances with colocated in situ measurements showed that the prelaunch calibration required adjustment from -2% to +13%. Minor modification of OCTS data processing based on these results and avoidance of near-field scatter effects can enable improved and more-reliable OCTS data for quantitative scientific analyses.     

Behavior of the point-spread function in photon-limited confocal microscopy

We study the behavior of the point-spread function (PSF) of the confocal scanning optical microscope (CSOM) when the available optical energy density from the sample plane is low (<7.5 microJoule/micrometers2). The PSF profile is analyzed under three photon-limited imaging conditions: (1) reflection-type CSOM with a weak source and a perfectly reflecting sample, (2) reflection-type CSOM with a strong illumination source and a weak sample, and (3) fluorescence CSOM with a weak fluorescent sample. Linfoot's image quality criteria of fidelity, structural content, and correlation quality are used to assess the reproducibility of the PSF profile as a function of the photon number. Low photon numbers yield a PSF profile that is difficult to maintain from one location in the sample plane to another. The optical sectioning capability of the CSOM was found to deteriorate more quickly against light power reduction than its transverse resolving power. The signal-to-noise ratio of the scanned CSOM image improves exponentially with the photon number from the sample plane. The noise that is generated by an unstable PSF has an average amplitude that decreases exponentially with the photon number and is significant only at low photon numbers. The CSOM image quality deteriorates because of spurious high-frequency components, degradation in the PSF dynamic range, and varying resolving power.     

Spectral radiant power measurements of VUV and soft x-ray sources using the electron storage ring BESSY as a radiometric standard source

A method is described for measuring the spectral radiant power of VUV and soft x-ray sources using the electron storage ring BESSY as a radiometric standard source of calculable spectral radiant power and degree of polarization. An ellipsoidal grazing incidence mirror stigmatically images the stored electrons or the source under investigation in equal optical conditions into a toroidal grating monochromator. The monochromator can be rotated around its optical axis in UHV conditions to account for different degrees of polarization of the two sources. The accuracy presently available with this method is demonstrated by a measurement of the spectral concentration of radiant intensity of a laser-produced tungsten plasma in the wavelength range between 7 and 100 nm with an overall uncertainty of 10%. A detailed analysis of the contributions to this uncertainty shows that the major part of it is caused by the presently uncertain knowledge of the polarizing properties of the radiometric instrumentation and by the uncertainty of the correction procedure which accounts for the influence of higher diffraction orders of the monochromator grating. The results of the radiation measurements of the laser-produced tungsten plasma let us expect that this source type has the potential to serve as a radiometric transfer standard in the VUV and soft x-ray range below 100 nm.     

Spectrally Tunable Sources for Advanced Radiometric Applications

A common radiometric platform for the development of application-specific metrics to quantify the performance of sensors and systems is described. Using this platform, sensor and system performance may be quantified in terms of the accuracy of measurements of standardized sets of source distributions. The prototype platform consists of spectrally programmable light sources that can generate complex spectral distributions in the ultraviolet, visible and short-wave infrared regions for radiometric, photometric and colorimetric applications. In essence, the programmable spectral source is a radiometric platform for advanced instrument characterization and calibration that can also serve as a basis for algorithm testing and instrument comparison.     

基于探测器的成象光谱仪绝对辐射定标方法

用一组窄带滤光片、简易辐亮度计和硅光二极管探测器设计了绝对型光谱辐亮度计。精确测量滤光片的光谱透过函数，计算辐亮度计的视场，标定探测器的绝对光谱响应度，成为绝对光谱辐亮度计，用来标定成象光谱和其它光学遥感器，并与基于光谱辐照度灯进行辐射定标的传统方法进行了比较。结果表明，基于探测器进行辐射定标的方法是一种提高光学遥感器定标精度的途径，而且是佐证其它定标方法可靠性的一种手段。     

Computational calibration method for optical tomography

We propose a computational calibration method for optical tomography. The model of the calibration scheme is based on the rotation symmetry of source and detector positions in the measurement setup. The relative amplitude losses and phase shifts at the optic fibers are modeled by complex-valued coupling coefficients. The coupling coefficients can be estimated when optical tomography data from a homogeneous and isotropic object are given. Once these coupling coefficients have been estimated, any data measured with the same measurement setup can be corrected for the relative variation in the data due to source and detector losses. The final calibration of the data for the source and detector losses and the source calibration between the data and the forward model are obtained as part of the initial estimation for reconstruction. The calibration method was tested with simulations and measurements. The results show that the coupling coefficients of the sources and detectors can be estimated with good accuracy. Furthermore, the results show that the method can significantly improve the quality of reconstructed images.     

Direct solar spectral irradiance and transmittance measurements from 350 to 2500 nm

A radiometrically stable, commercially available spectroradiometer was used in conjunction with a simple, custom-designed telescope to make spectrally continuous measurements of solar spectral transmittance and directly transmitted solar spectral irradiance. The wavelength range of the instrument is 350-2500 nm and the resolution is 3-11.7 nm. Laboratory radiometric calibrations show the instrument to be stable to better than 1.0% over a nine-month period. The instrument and telescope are highly portable, can be set up in a matter of minutes, and can be operated by one person. A method of absolute radiometric calibration that can be tied to published top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) solar spectra in valid Langley channels as well as regions of strong molecular absorption is also presented. High-altitude Langley plot calibration experiments indicate that this technique is limited ultimately by the current uncertainties in the TOA solar spectra, approximately 2-3%. Example comparisons of measured and modtran-modeled direct solar irradiance show that the model can be parameterized to agree with measurements over the large majority of the wavelength range to the 3% level for the two example cases shown. Side-by-side comparisons with a filter-based solar radiometer are in excellent agreement, with a mean absolute difference of tau = 0.0036 for eight overlapping wavelengths over three experiment days.     

Design and optimization of the calibration procedure for a miniaturized Fourier transform spectrometer

This paper presents a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer calibration procedure based on an unusual source made from a spectrally selective surface. An alternative solution to the usual calibrators has been developed to cope with the tight mass budget of an instrument devoted to Mars surface exploration. The designed system has proved effective, in terms of achievable radiometric accuracy, despite the drawbacks due to the significant reflectivity of the sources. The proposed procedure is a standard "two-source" approach in which both cold and hot sources are thermally controlled surfaces, similar to an optical solar reflector, associated to a filament lamp. Such a system allows the required signal to be achieved in the 2-25 l m instrument wavelength range. Source optimization was performed using, as a cost function, the computed radiometric uncertainty, while the required absolute accuracy of the instrument was imposed as the optimization constraint.     

Measurement of the point-spread function in a layered system

A laboratory facility to measure the point-spread function (PSF) of water with the addition of scattering layers is described. The PSF was measuredby using an approximately Lambertian source and a camera that viewed this source but focused at infinity. Measurements for various optical path lengths with the scattering layer in three separate regions, i.e., near the source, near the camera, and an intermediate case, were performed. The PSF was found to depend strongly on the location of the scattering layer. For the same optical path length, the most diffuse PSF was found for the case of a scattering layer near the camera.     

Phase-shifting technique for improving the imaging capacity of sparse-aperture optical interferometers

We describe the principle of a multiaperture interferometer that uses a phase-shifting technique and is suitable for quick snapshot imaging of astrophysical objects at extreme angular resolution through Fourier inversion. A few advantages of the proposed design are highlighted, among which are radiometric efficiency, field of view equivalent to those of Fizeau interferometers, and a preliminary calibration procedure allowing characterization of instrumental errors. For large telescope numbers, the proposed design also results in considerable simplification of the optical and mechanical design. Numerical simulations suggest that it should be possible to couple hundreds of telescopes on a single 4K × 4K detector array, using only conventional optical components or emerging technologies.     

Ultrasonic imaging using a computed point spread function

An explicit point spread function (PSF) evaluator in the frequency domain is described for an ultrasonic transducer operating in the pulse-echo mode. The PSF evaluator employs the patch element model for transducer field determination and scattered field assessment from a small but finite "point" reflector. The PSF for a planar transducer in a medium has been evaluated in the near and the far field. The computed PSFs were used to deconvolve and restore surface images, obtained experimentally, of a single hole and a five-hole cluster in an Al calibration block. A calibration plot is arrived at for estimating, without the need for deconvolution, the actual diameters of circular reflectors from apparent diameters obtained experimentally for a single-medium imaging configuration. The PSF, when the transducer and the point reflector are in two media separated by a planar interface, was evaluated in the near and far field. The computed PSFs were used to deconvolve and restore subsurface images, obtained experimentally, of flat bottom holes (FBHs) in an Al calibration block. We show that the PSF, in the presence of a planar interface, can be obtained from a single-medium PSF model using an effective single-medium path length concept. The PSFs and modulation transfer functions (MTFs) are evaluated for spherical focused and annular transducers and compared with those for the planar transducer. We identify imaging distances to get better-resolved images when using planar, spherical focused, and annular transducers.     

Nonlinear model for an optical read-only-memory disk readout channel based on an edge-spread function

A point-spread function (PSF) is commonly used as a model of an optical disk readout channel. However, the model given by the PSF does not contain the quadratic distortion generated by the photo-detection process. We introduce a model for calculating an approximation of the quadratic component of a signal. We show that this model can be further simplified when a read-only-memory (ROM) disk is assumed. We introduce an edge-spread function by which a simple nonlinear model of an optical ROM disk readout channel is created.     

Radiometry in line-shape modeling of Fourier-transform spectrometers

A radiometric model of the instrument line shape (ILS) of Fourier-transform spectrometers is presented. We show first that common line-shape models are based on distribution of the radiant intensity in the interferometer. The complete steps between the source and the ILS are exposed as the core of the model. Relationships between the ILS, the spectrum as measured by the instrument, and the spectrum as emitted by the scene are demonstrated from the ILS model. Then the formal radiometric modeling of the ILS is derived, including the contribution of the aperture of the optical system. The particular case of a centered circular aperture with a uniform Lambertian radiance in the field of view is discussed. Conditions are deduced to ensure that the only spectral variation of the ILS is a scaling with wave number, as is usually assumed in current line-shape models. The ILS dependence on the scene is also discussed, and the effect of taking into account the radiometry on the ILS is estimated for the case of an ideal thin lens used as a collimator.     

Facility for spectral irradiance and radiance responsivity calibrations using uniform sources

Detectors have historically been calibrated for spectral power responsivity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology by using a lamp-monochromator system to tune the wavelength of the excitation source. Silicon detectors can be calibrated in the visible spectral region with combined standard uncertainties at the 0.1% level. However, uncertainties increase dramatically when measuring an instrument's spectral irradiance or radiance responsivity. We describe what we believe to be a new laser-based facility for spectral irradiance and radiance responsivity calibrations using uniform sources (SIRCUS) that was developed to calibrate instruments directly in irradiance or radiance mode with uncertainties approaching or exceeding those available for spectral power responsivity calibrations. In SIRCUS, the emission from high-power, tunable lasers is introduced into an integrating sphere using optical fibers, producing uniform, quasi-Lambertian, high-radiant-flux sources. Reference standard irradiance detectors, calibrated directly against national primary standards for spectral power responsivity and aperture area measurement, are used to determine the irradiance at a reference plane. Knowing the measurement geometry, the source radiance can be readily determined as well. The radiometric properties of the SIRCUS source coupled with state-of-the-art transfer standard radiometers whose responses are directly traceable to primary national radiometric scales result in typical combined standard uncertainties in irradiance and radiance responsivity calibrations of less than 0.1%. The details of the facility and its effect on primary national radiometric scales are discussed.     

相对辐射定标与相对辐射校正场

相对辐射校正是提高遥感卫星图像质量的一个极其重要的途径,辐射校正场定标是相对辐射定标的一个行之有效的方法。本文在介绍了CCD遥感卫星成像原理和过程的基础上,分析了相对辐射校正的原理,进而阐述了进行相对辐射校正的三种方法。同时,本文还特别针对在轨对地定标探讨了选择相对辐射校正场的方法,并介绍了几个条件优越的相对辐射校正场。     

面向定量化红外遥感的热电堆探测器定标技术

从红外遥感信息定量化的发展要求出发,分析了测辐射热计、热电堆探测器和热释电探测器的响应特性,选择薄膜热电堆探测器TS-76作为传递标准探测器.搭建高精度光谱响应率定标系统,使用宽波段可调谐激光器和绝对低温辐射计对TS-76探测器的线性、空间均匀性以及重复性进行了标定.按照国际通用不确定度评估规范,对光谱响应率测量结果进行不确定度分析和评估,联合不确定度小于1.5%,并根据实验结果提出实现高精度中远红外辐射定标的技术方案,证明基于热电堆探测器的红外辐射定标技术可以有效缩短标准传递的链路,提高定标的精度.     

Laboratory-based bidirectional reflectance distribution functions of radiometric tarps

Laboratory-based bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs) of radiometric tarp samples used in the vicarious calibration of Earth remote sensing satellite instruments are presented in this paper. The results illustrate the BRDF dependence on the orientation of the tarps' weft and warp threads. The study was performed using the GSFC scatterometer at incident zenith angles of 0 degrees, 10 degrees, and 30 degrees; scatter zenith angles from 0 degrees to 60 degrees; and scatter azimuth angles of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees, and 180 degrees. The wavelengths were 485 nm, 550 nm, 633 nm, and 800 nm. The tarp's weft and warp dependence on BRDF is well defined at all measurement geometries and wavelengths. The BRDF difference can be as high as 8% at 0 degrees incident angle and 12% at 30 degrees incident angle. The fitted BRDF data show a very small discrepancy from the measured ones. New data on the forward and backscatter properties of radiometric tarps are reported. The backward scatter is well pronounced for the white samples. The black sample has well-pronounced forward scatter. The provided BRDF characterization of radiometric tarps is an excellent reference for anyone interested in using tarps for radiometric calibrations. The results are NIST traceable.