The complex dielectric constant of pure and sea water from microwave satellite observations

We provide a new fit for the microwave complex dielectric constant of water in the salinity range between 0-40 ppt using two Debye relaxation wavelengths. For pure water, the fit is based on laboratory measurements in the temperature range between -20/spl deg/C and +40/spl deg/C including supercooled water and for frequencies up to 500 GHz. For sea water, our fit is valid for temperatures between -2/spl deg/C and +29/spl deg/C and for frequencies up to at least 90 GHz. At low frequencies, our new model is a modified version of the Klein-Swift model. We compare the results of the new fit with various other models and provide a validation using an extensive analysis of brightness temperatures from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager.     

A parameterized surface reflectivity model and estimation of bare-surface soil moisture with L-band radiometer

Soil moisture is an important parameter for hydrological and climatic investigations. Future satellite missions with L-band passive microwave radiometers will significantly increase the capability of monitoring Earth's soil moisture globally. Understanding the effects of surface roughness on microwave emission and developing quantitative bare-surface soil moisture retrieval algorithms is one of the essential components in many applications of geophysical properties in the complex Earth terrain by microwave remote sensing. We explore the use of the integral equation model (IEM) for modeling microwave emission. This model was validated using a three-dimensional Monte Carlo model. The results indicate that the IEM model can be used to simulate the surface emission quite well for a wide range of surface roughness conditions with high confidence. Several important characteristics of the effects of surface roughness on radiometer emission signals at L-band 1.4 GHz that have not been adequately addressed in the current semiempirical surface effective reflectivity models are demonstrated by using IEM-simulated data. Using an IEM-simulated database for a wide range of surface soil moisture and roughness properties, we developed a parameterized surface effective reflectivity model with three typically used correlation functions and an inversion model that puts different weights on the polarization measurements to minimize surface roughness effects and to estimate the surface dielectric properties directly from dual-polarization measurements. The inversion technique was validated with four years (1979-1982) of ground microwave radiometer experiment data over several bare-surface test sites at Beltsville, Maryland. The accuracies in random-mean-square error are within or about 3% for incidence angles from 20/spl deg/ to 50/spl deg/.     

Characterization of the temperature sensitivity of gain and recombination mechanisms in 1.3-/spl mu/m AlGaInAs MQW lasers

The potential of 1.3-/spl mu/m AlGaInAs multiple quantum-well (MQW) laser diodes for uncooled operation in high-speed optical communication systems is experimentally evaluated by characterizing the temperature dependence of key parameters such as the threshold current, transparency current density, optical gain and carrier lifetime. Detailed measurements performed in the 20/spl deg/C-100/spl deg/C temperature range indicate a localized T/sub 0/ value of 68 K at 98/spl deg/C for a device with a 2.8 /spl mu/m ridge width and 700-/spl mu/m cavity length. The transparency current density is measured for temperatures from 20/spl deg/C to 60/spl deg/C and found to increase at a rate of 7.7 A/spl middot/cm/sup -2//spl middot/ /spl deg/C/sup -1/. Optical gain characterizations show that the peak modal gain at threshold is independent of temperature, whereas the differential gain decreases linearly with temperature at a rate of 3/spl times/10/sup -4/ A/sup -1//spl middot//spl deg/C/sup -1/. The differential carrier lifetime is determined from electrical impedance measurements and found to decrease with temperature. From the measured carrier lifetime we derive the monomolecular ( A), radiative (B), and nonradiative Auger (C) recombination coefficients and determine their temperature dependence in the 20/spl deg/C-80/spl deg/C range. Our study shows that A is temperature independent, B decreases with temperature, and C exhibits a less pronounced increase with temperature. The experimental observations are discussed and compared with theoretical predictions and measurements performed on other material systems.     

Microwave Circuits for High-Efficiency Operation of Transferred Electron Oscillators

Compact circuits for obtaining high-efficiency operation of high-power transferred electron oscillators (TEOs) in L-band are described. One is a coaxial resonator and the other employs coupled TEM lines. The circuits are shown analytically and experimentally to be capable of matching a wide range of fundamental device impedances. Provisions for independently tuning the second-harmonic impedance over a wide range are included in both types of circuits. Pulsed conversion efficiencies up to 32 percent have been obtained TEOs mounted in the coaxial resonators and up to 27 percent with TEOs in the coupled TEM-line structures. The impedance at the second harmonic has been shown quantitatively to be extremely important in controlling device efficiency. By varying the second-harmonic tuning the device performance can be varied from high-efficiency operation to no output. Oscillators using these cavities were temperature stable over a wide range. The operating frequency of TEOs in the coaxial cavity and the coupled-TEM-line cavity varied less than 30 and 40 kHz//spl deg/C, respectively, over the range from - 54/spl deg/C to +125/spl deg/C.     

High temperature dielectric stability of liquid crystal polymer at mm-wave frequencies

The temperature dependent dielectric stability and transmission line losses of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) are determined from 11-105 GHz. Across this frequency range, LCP's temperature coefficient of dielectric constant, /spl tau//sub /spl epsi/r/, has an average value of -42 ppm//spl deg/C. At 11GHz the /spl tau//sub /spl epsi/r/ is the best (-3 ppm//spl deg/C), but this value degrades slightly with increasing frequency. This /spl tau//sub /spl epsi/r/ average value compares well with the better commercially available microwave substrates. In addition, it includes information for mm-wave frequencies whereas standard values for /spl tau//sub /spl epsi/r/ are usually only given at 10 GHz or below. Transmission line losses on 3- and 5-mil LCP substrates increase by approximately 20% at 75/spl deg/C and 50% or more at 125/spl deg/C. These insertion loss increases can be used as a design guide for LCP circuits expected to be exposed to elevated operating temperatures.     

Retrieval of crop biomass and soil moisture from measured 1.4 and 10.65 GHz brightness temperatures

Physically based land surface process/radiobrightness (LSP/R) models may characterize well the relationship between radiometric signatures and surface parameters. They can be used to develop and improve the means of sensing surface parameters by microwave radiometry. However, due to a lack in the skill to properly understand the behavior of the data, a statistical approach is often adopted. In this paper, we present the retrieval of wheat plant water content (PWC) and soil moisture content (SMC) profiles from the measured H-polarized and V-polarized brightness temperatures at 1.4 (L-band), and 10.65 (X-band) GHz by an error propagation learning back propagation (EPLBP) neural network. The PWC is defined as the total water content in the vegetation. The brightness temperatures were taken by the PORTOS radiometer over wheat fields through three month growth cycles in 1993 (PORTOS-93) and 1996 (PORTOS-96). Note that, through the neural network, there is no requirement of ancillary information on the complex surface parameters such as vegetation biomass, surface temperature, and surface roughness, etc. During both field campaigns, the L-band radiometer was used to measure brightness temperatures at incident angles from 0 to 50/spl deg/ at L-band and at an incident angle of 50/spl deg/ at X-band. The SMC profiles were measured to the depths of 10 cm in 1993 and 5 cm in 1996. The wheat was sampled approximately once a week in 1993 and 1996 to obtain its dry and wet biomass (i.e., PWC). The EPLBP neural network was trained with observations randomly chosen from the PORTOS-93 data, and evaluated by the remaining data from the same set. The trained neural network is further evaluated with the PORTOS-96 data.     

A comparison of the MIR-estimated and model-calculated fresh water surface emissivities at 89, 150, and 220 GHz

The airborne millimeter-wave imaging radiometer (MIR) measurements over three lakes (surface temperature /spl sim/273 K) in the Midwest region of the USA during February 1997 were used to estimate surface emissivities at 89, 150, and 220 GHz and the results were compared with those calculated from three different dielectric permittivity models for fresh water. The measurements were during clear and dry atmospheric conditions so that the column water vapor could be accurately retrieved and its effect on the MIR measurements predicted. The standard deviations of the estimated emissivities were found to be about 0.003, 0.004, and 0.008 for 89, 150, and 220 GHz, respectively. The errors of the estimation were calculated to be /spl plusmn/0.005, /spl plusmn/0.006, and /spl plusmn/0.011 in the same order of frequency, respectively, based on the MIR measurement accuracy of /spl plusmn/1 K in the brightness temperature range of 190-290 K. The estimated emissivities at normal incidence, under the assumption of a calm water surface, compare quite well with values generated by the model of P. Stogryn et al. (1995). These estimated values are slightly lower than those calculated from the model of H. J. Liebe et al. (1991) at both 89 and 150 GHz. The estimated 89 GHz emissivity is higher than that calculated from the model of W. Ellison et al. (1998). Additionally, the retrievals using different models of atmospheric absorption as well as off-nadir measurements of the MIR are explored. The impact of these retrievals on the comparison of estimated and calculated emissivities is discussed.     

A Highly Stabilized MIC Gunn Oscillator Using a Dielectric Resonator

An X-band frequency-stabilized MIC Gunn oscillator of a very simple structure using a dielectric resonator is developed. It is studied how the oscillating characteristics can be controlled by circuit parameters, with special attention to the factors affecting the frequency stability with temperature. By optimizing these factors and by selecting the proper temperature coefficient of a newly developed dielectric resonator, the high frequency stability of less than /spl plusmn/100 MHz over the temperature range from -20 to 60/spl deg/C (2x10 /sup -7/ / /spl deg/C) was obtained.     

SiC thin-film Fabry-Perot interferometer for fiber-optic temperature sensor

Polycrystalline SiC grown on single-crystal sapphire substrates have been investigated as thin-film Fabry-Perot interferometers for fiber-optic temperature measurements in harsh temperatures. SiC-based temperature sensors are compact in size, robust, and stable at high temperatures, making them one of the best choices for high temperature applications. SiC films with thickness of about 0.5-2.0 /spl mu/m were grown at 1100/spl deg/C by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with trimethylsilane. The effect of operating temperature on the shifts in resonance minima, /spl Delta//spl lambda//sub m/, of the SiC/sapphire substrate has been measured in the visible-infrared wavelength range. A temperature sensitivity of 1.9/spl times/10/sup -5///spl deg/C is calculated using the minimum at /spl sim/700 nm. Using a white, broadband light source, a temperature accuracy of /spl plusmn/3.5/spl deg/C is obtained over the temperature range of 22/spl deg/C to 540/spl deg/C.     

SMOS REFLEX 2003: L-band emissivity characterization of vineyards

The goal of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission over land is to infer surface soil moisture from multiangular L-band radiometric measurements. As the canopy affects the microwave emission of land, it is necessary to characterize different vegetation layers. This paper presents the Reference Pixel L-Band Experiment (REFLEX), carried out in June-July 2003 at the Vale/spl grave/ncia Anchor Station, Spain, to study the effects of grapevines on the soil emission and on the soil moisture retrieval. A wide range of soil moisture (SM), from saturated to completely dry soil, was measured with the Universitat Polite/spl grave/cnica de Catalunya's L-band Automatic Radiometer (LAURA). Concurrently with the radiometric measurements, the gravimetric soil moisture, temperature, and roughness were measured, and the vines were fully characterized. The opacity and albedo of the vineyard have been estimated and found to be independent on the polarization. The /spl tau/--/spl omega/ model has been used to retrieve the SM and the vegetation parameters, obtaining a good accuracy for incidence angles up to 55/spl deg/. Algorithms with a three-parameter optimization (SM, albedo albedo, and opacity) exhibit a better performance than those with one-parameter optimization (SM).     

On the detection of Faraday rotation in linearly polarized L-band SAR backscatter signatures

The potentially measurable effects of Faraday rotation on linearly polarized backscatter measurements from space are addressed. Single-polarized, dual-polarized, and quad-polarized backscatter measurements subject to Faraday rotation are first modeled. Then, the impacts are assessed using L-band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Due to Faraday rotation, the received signal will include other polarization characteristics of the surface, which may be detectable under certain conditions. Model results are used to suggest data characteristics that will reveal the presence of Faraday rotation in a given single-polarized, dual-polarized, or quad-polarized L-band SAR dataset, provided the user can identify scatterers within the scene whose general behavior is known or can compare the data to another, similar dataset with zero Faraday rotation. The data characteristics found to be most sensitive to a small amount of Faraday rotation (i.e., a one-way rotation <20/spl deg/) are the cross-pol backscatter [/spl sigma//spl deg/(HV)] and the like-to-cross-pol correlation [e.g., /spl rho/(HHHV/sup */)]. For a diverse, but representative, set of natural terrain, the level of distortion across a range of backscatter measures is shown to be acceptable (i.e., minimal) for one-way Faraday rotations of less than 5/spl deg/, and 3/spl deg/ if the radiometric uncertainty in the HV backscatter is specified to be less than 0.5 dB.     

Wind speed effect on L-band brightness temperature inferred from EuroSTARRS and WISE 2001 field experiments

The results from two field experiments in the Mediterranean Sea are used to study the wind speed dependence of brightness temperature at L-band. During the EuroSTARRS airborne experiment, an L-band radiometer made measurements across a large wind speed gradient, enabling us to study this dependence at high wind speed. We compare our results with a two-scale emissivity model using several representations of the sea state spectrum. While the results are encouraging, unfortunately the accuracy of the measurements does not permit us to distinguish between the so-called twice Durden and Vesecky spectrum and the Elfouhaily spectrum above 7 m/spl middot/s/sup -1/. The effect of foam is certainly small. During the WISE 2001 field experiment carried on an oil rig, we studied this dependence at low wind speed, finding an abrupt decrease of the wind speed effect on the brightness temperature below 3 m/spl middot/s/sup -1/.     

FDTD-derived correlation of maximum temperature increase and peak SAR in child and adult head models due to dipole antenna

This paper investigates the correlation between the peak specific absorption rate (SAR) and the maximum temperature increase in head models of adults and children due to a dipole antenna. Much attention is paid to the effect of variation of electrical and thermal constants on the correlation for the child models, since these constants of child tissues are different from those of adult tissues. For investigating these correlations thoroughly, a total of 1400 situations are considered for the following six models: 3-year-old child, 7-year-old child, and adult models developed at the Nagoya Institute of Technology and the Osaka the University. The numerical results are analyzed on the basis of statistics. We find that the maximum temperature increases in the head can be estimated linearly in terms of peak SAR averaged over 1- or 10-g of tissue. In particular, no clear difference is observed between the adult and child models in terms of the slopes correlating the maximum temperature increase with the peak SAR. Also, the effect of electrical and thermal constants of tissue on these correlation is found to be marginal. Further, we discuss possible maximum temperature increases in the head and brain for SAR limits prescribed in safety guidelines. For the adult model developed at the Osaka Univ., these are found to be 0.26/spl deg/C and 0.10/spl deg/C at the SAR value of 1.6 W/kg for 1-g cubic tissue and 0.59/spl deg/C and 0.21/spl deg/C at the SAR value of 2.0 W/kg for 10-g cubic tissue. Similarly, for the 3-year-old child model at Osaka Univ., these are 0.23/spl deg/C and 0.11/spl deg/C for the value of 1-g SAR and 0.53/spl deg/C and 0.20/spl deg/C for the value of 10-g SAR.     

Temperature-independent direct current converter technique

A novel temperature-independent direct current converter, the subject of a patent application number GB051623.8, is presented. Conversion ratios from less than unity to in excess of 50 are possible. Simulation measurements show an output temperature coefficient as low as 16 ppm//spl deg/C over the temperature range -40 to +85/spl deg/C.     

A two-terminal IC temperature transducer

A bipolar monolithic IC temperature transducer with an operating temperature range of -125/spl deg/C to +200/spl deg/C has been designed, fabricated, and tested. The two-terminal device, which is fabricated using laser trimmed thin-film-on-silicon technology, is a calibrated temperature dependent current source with an average output impedence of 10 M/spl Omega/ over the 3.5-V to 30-V range of input voltage. Overall absolute accuracies of /spl plusmn/0.5/spl deg/C from -75/spl deg/C to +150/spl deg/C have been achieved on a scale of 1 /spl mu/A/K under optimum operating conditions.     

The b-factor as a function of frequency and canopy type at H-polarization

For anticipated synergistic approaches of the L-band radiometer on the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission with higher frequency microwave radiometers such as the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) (C-band), a reanalysis has been performed on the frequency dependence of the linear relationship between vegetation optical depth (/spl tau//sub o/) and vegetation water content (W), given by /spl tau//sub o/=b/spl middot/W. Insight into the frequency dependence of the b-factor is important for the retrieval of surface moisture from dual- or multifrequency microwave brightness temperature observations from space over vegetation-covered regions using model inversion techniques. The b-values presented in the literature are based on different methods and approaches. Therefore, a direct comparison is not straightforward and requires a critical analysis. This paper confirms that when a large frequency domain is considered, the b-factor is inversely proportional to the power of the wavelength b=c/(/spl lambda/)/sup x/, which is in line with theoretical considerations. It was found that different canopy types could be separated into different groups, each with a different combination of values for log(c) and x, which characterize the linearized relationship log(b)=log(c)-x/spl middot/log(/spl lambda/). A comparison of ratios b/sub C//b/sub L/ (with C and L denoting C- and L-band, respectively) also resulted in basically the same groups.     

Stable mode-locked operation up to 80 /spl deg/C from an InGaAs quantum-dot laser

We demonstrate the mode-locked operation of a two-section quantum-dot laser in a broad temperature range. Stable mode-locking was observed at temperatures ranging from 20 /spl deg/C to 70 /spl deg/C, with signal-to-noise ratios well over 20 dB and a -3-dB linewidth smaller than 80 kHz. In the temperature range between 70 /spl deg/C and 80 /spl deg/C, the mode-locking was less stable. It was found that in order to provide stable mode-locked operation with increasing temperature, the reverse bias on the absorber section must be reduced accordingly.     

Design and field-of-view calibration of 114-660-GHz optics of the Earth observing system microwave limb sounder

This paper describes the optics design and field-of-view (FOV) calibration for five radiometers covering 114-660 GHz which share a common antenna in the Microwave Limb Sounder instrument on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aura satellite. Details of near-field pattern measurements are presented. Estimated systematic scaling uncertainties (3/spl sigma/) on calibrated limb emissions, due to FOV calibration uncertainties, are below 0.4%. 3/spl sigma/ uncertainties in beamwidth and relative pointing of radiometer boresights are 0.006/spl deg/ and 0.003/spl deg/, respectively. The uncertainty in modeled instrument response, due to the scan dependence of FOV patterns, is less than /spl plusmn/0.24 K equivalent black-body temperature. Refinements to the calibration using in-flight data are presented.     

PTAT direct current converter for bias circuit applications

A novel proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) current converter is presented. Output current gain ratios in excess of 50 are possible without the use of an operational amplifier. Simulation measurements show an output temperature coefficient within 15 ppm//spl deg/C of the reference current over the temperature range of -40 to +85/spl deg/C.     

Highly reliable and high-yield 1300-nm InGaAlAs directly modulated ridge fabry-Perot lasers, operating at 10-gb/s, up to 110/spl deg/C, with constant current swing

Transceivers for 300-m multimode links, based on a serial 10-Gb/s laser source and incorporating a receiver based on electronic dispersion compensation (EDC), are creating the first high-volume application for a 10-Gb Fabry-Perot (FP). A highly reliable and high-yield uncooled ridge FP laser is presented. The device shows excellent power characteristics in the 25/spl divide/150/spl deg/C temperature range with very high T/sub 0/ (95 K in the temperature range 0/spl divide/85/spl deg/C and still 78 K at 150/spl deg/C). Outstanding dynamic performances are also shown: 6 dB of extinction ratio can be achieved up to 110/spl deg/C by using a constant current swing of 50 mA. Because of their enhanced performances, these devices have enabled single temperature setting of the optical module, leading to a significant test cost reduction.