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.     

400～1700 nm绝对光谱响应度校准和量值传递

介绍了高准确度光辐射功率校准原理和方法,利用低温辐射计作为主标准器,以陷阱探测器作为传递标准,激光器作为光源,通过激光功率稳定装置,校准了硅陷阱探测器和铟镓砷陷阱探测器的绝对光谱响应度。选取476.1, 488, 514.7, 521, 568, 632.8, 647.1, 785, 852, 980, 1064, 1550,nm共12条谱线完成了校准实验,绝对光谱响应度测量不确定度均优于0.05%。通过量子效率模型得出了硅陷阱探测器的绝对光谱响应曲线。利用InGaAs陷阱探测器分立波长点的绝对光谱响应度与相对光谱响应曲线进行了验证分析。结果表明,2种陷阱探测器均可用作传递标准进行高准确度的可见光和近红外光辐射功率校准和量值传递。     

Infrared spectral responsivity scale realization and validations

An InSb working standard radiometer, first calibrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 1999 against a cryogenic bolometer, was recently calibrated against a newly developed low-noise-equivalent-power pyroelectric transfer standard detector. The pyroelectric transfer standard, which can operate at the output of a monochromator, holds the newly realized NIST spectral power responsivity scale between 1.7 and 14?μm with an uncertainty of 1% (k=2). The InSb working standard was also measured at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) of the United Kingdom in 1999. The less than 2% spectral power responsivity disagreements obtained on the InSb working standard (both from the 1999 NIST and NPL comparison and also against the pyroelectric standard) validate the three independently realized power responsivity scales and verify the long-term stability of the InSb working standard. The InSb working standard was also used in irradiance measurement mode to validate the previously determined spectral irradiance responsivity of four narrowband InSb radiometers that were applied to calibrate IR target simulators. The uncertainty of the present spectral irradiance responsivity scale held by the InSb working standard is 2.5% (k=2) in the 2 to 5.2?μm wavelength range.     

Spectral Power and Irradiance Responsivity Calibration of InSb Working-Standard Radiometers

New, improved-performance InSb power-irradiance meters have been developed and characterized to maintain the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spectral responsivity scale between 2 and 5.1 mum. The InSb radiometers were calibrated against the transfer-standard cryogenic bolometer that is tied to the primary-standard cryogenic radiometer of the NIST. The InSb radiometers serve as easy-to-use working standards for routine spectral power and irradiance responsivity calibrations. The spectral irradiance responsivities were derived from the spectral power responsivities by use of the measured area of the apertures in front of the InSb detectors.     

Thermodynamic Radiation Thermometry Using Radiometers Calibrated for Radiance Responsivity

Using radiometry, thermodynamic temperatures can be determined by a variety of experimental techniques. Radiometers without imaging optics can be calibrated for spectral power or spectral irradiance responsivity, and radiometers with imaging optics can be calibrated for radiance responsivity. These separate approaches can have different uncertainty components with different uncertainty values. At NIST, thermodynamic radiation thermometry is performed using radiation thermometers calibrated for radiance responsivity using laser-irradiated integrating sphere sources (ISS). The radiance of the ISS is determined using Si-trap detectors whose spectral power responsivity is traceable to the electrical substitution cryogenic radiometer. The radiometric basis of the NIST approach is discussed. The uncertainty budget for the measurements as well as the characterizations to determine the component uncertainty values is listed.     

Comparison of a Detector-Based Near-IR Radiance Scale to an ITS-90 Calibrated Radiation Thermometer

Integrating-sphere-input InGaAs radiometers (ISIR) have been developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to extend the detector-based calibration of radiation thermometers from the Si range to the near-infrared (NIR). These near-infrared radiometers are used to determine the reference spectral irradiance responsivity scale based on the primary-standard cryogenic radiometer. The irradiance responsivity scale is then propagated to spectral radiance at the exit port of an integrating sphere. The near-infrared radiation thermometer (NIRT) is calibrated using this detector-based radiance scale. The first phase of this research work is reported here where the relative spectral radiance responsivity of the NIRT has been determined using a monochromator-based system. Thereafter, the relative spectral responsivity of the NIRT is converted into an absolute responsivity using the radiances from the Zn fixed point blackbody. Then, the NIRT is used to extend these calibrations for temperature measurements between 157 °C and 1000 °C. The NIRT has also been calibrated in this temperature range using the five, fixed point blackbodies of the ITS-90. The two different calibration approaches for temperature measurements are compared.     

New PTB Setup for the Absolute Calibration of the Spectral Responsivity of Radiation Thermometers

The paper describes the new experimental setup assembled at the PTB for the absolute spectral responsivity measurement of radiation thermometers. The concept of this setup is to measure the relative spectral responsivity of the radiation thermometer using the conventional monochromator-based spectral comparator facility also used for the calibration of filter radiometers. The absolute spectral responsivity is subsequently measured at one wavelength, supplied by the radiation of a diode laser, using the new setup. The radiation of the diode laser is guided with an optical fiber into an integrating sphere source that is equipped with an aperture of absolutely known area. The spectral radiance of this integrating sphere source is determined via the spectral irradiance measured by a trap detector with an absolutely calibrated spectral responsivity traceable to the primary detector standard of the PTB, the cryogenic radiometer. First results of the spectral responsivity calibration of the radiation thermometer LP3 are presented, and a provisional uncertainty budget of the absolute spectral responsivity is given.     

Traceable radiometric calibration of semiconductor detectors and their application for thermodynamic temperature measurement

The non-contact measurement of temperature by using the emitted thermal radiation has been an innovative field of measurement science and fundamental physics for more than a hundred years. It saw the first highlight in Gustav Kirchhoff’s principle of a blackbody with ideal emission characteristics and culminated in Max Planck’s formulation of the law of thermal radiation, the so-called Planck’s law, forming the foundation of quantum physics. A boost in accuracy was the development of semiconductor detectors and the cryogenic electrical substitution radiometer in the late 1970s. Semiconductor detectors, namely photodiodes, deliver an electrical current proportional to the absorbed optical radiation. Due to the measurements of thermal radiation over a wide range of temperature and wavelength, thermodynamic temperature measurements with radiometric methods have set benchmarks to all, the electrical, dimensional and optical metrology. The paper describes the measurement of the spectral responsivity of semiconductor detectors traceable to the SI units and their application for thermodynamic temperature measurement by the absolute measurement of thermal radiation using filter radiometers with calibrated spectral irradiance responsivity.     

Comparison of absolute spectral irradiance responsivity measurement techniques using wavelength-tunable lasers

Independent methods for measuring the absolute spectral irradiance responsivity of detectors have been compared between the calibration facilities at two national metrology institutes, the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), Finland, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The emphasis is on the comparison of two different techniques for generating a uniform irradiance at a reference plane using wavelength-tunable lasers. At TKK's Laser Scanning Facility (LSF) the irradiance is generated by raster scanning a single collimated laser beam, while at the NIST facility for Spectral Irradiance and Radiance Responsivity Calibrations with Uniform Sources (SIRCUS), lasers are introduced into integrating spheres to generate a uniform irradiance at a reference plane. The laser-based irradiance responsivity results are compared to a traditional lamp-monochromator-based irradiance responsivity calibration obtained at the NIST Spectral Comparator Facility (SCF). A narrowband filter radiometer with a 24 nm bandwidth and an effective band-center wavelength of 801 nm was used as the artifact. The results of the comparison between the different facilities, reported for the first time in the near-infrared wavelength range, demonstrate agreement at the uncertainty level of less than 0.1%. This result has significant implications in radiation thermometry and in photometry as well as in radiometry.     

Characterization of an ultraviolet and a vacuum-ultraviolet irradiance meter with synchrotron radiation

We have constructed and characterized a simple probe that is suitable for accurate measurements of irradiance in the UV to the vacuum UV spectral range. The irradiance meter consists of a PtSi detector located behind a 5-mm-diameter aperture. The probe was characterized at various wavelengths ranging from 130 to 320 mm by use of continuously tunable synchrotron radiation from the Synchrotron Ultra-violet Radiation Facility III. We determined the irradiance responsivity by scanning a small monochromatic beam over the active area of the irradiance meter and measuring its response on a grid with regular spacing. The angular response was also determined and shown to be suitable for applications such as photolithography. In addition, we studied the radiation damage using a 157-nm excimer laser and found that the irradiance meter can endure more than 100 J/cm2 of 157-nm radiation before a noticeable change occurs in its responsivity. Many industrial applications such as UV curing, photolithography, or semiconductor chip fabrication that require accurate measurement of the irradiance would benefit from having such a stable, accurate LTV irradiance meter.     

Stability of the spectral responsivity of cryogenically cooled InSb infrared detectors

The spectral responsivity of two cryogenically cooled InSb detectors was observed to drift slowly with time. The origin of these drifts was investigated and was shown to occur due to a water-ice thin film that was deposited onto the active areas of the cold detectors. The presence of the ice film (which is itself a dielectric film) modifies the transmission characteristics of the antireflection coatings deposited on the active areas of the detectors, thus giving rise to the observed drifts. The magnitude of the drifts was drastically reduced by evacuating the detector dewars while baking them at 50 degrees C for approximately 48 h. All InSb detectors have antireflection coatings to reduce the Fresnel reflections and therefore enhance their spectral responsivity. This work demonstrates that InSb infrared detectors should be evacuated and baked at least annually and in some cases (depending on the quality of the dewar and the measurement uncertainty required) more frequently. These observations are particularly relevant to InSb detectors mounted in dewars that use rubber O rings since the ingress of moisture was found to be particularly serious in this type of dewar.     

Long-term temporal stability of the National Institute of Standards and Technology spectral irradiance scale determined with absolute filter radiometers

The temporal stability of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spectral irradiance scale as measured with broadband filter radiometers calibrated for absolute spectral irradiance responsivity is described. The working standard free-electron laser (FEL) lamps and the check standard FEL lamps have been monitored with radiometers in the ultraviolet and the visible wavelength regions. The measurements made with these two radiometers reveal that the NIST spectral irradiance scale as compared with an absolute thermodynamic scale has not changed by more than 1.5% in the visible from 1993 to 1999. Similar measurements in the ultraviolet reveal that the corresponding change is less than 1.5% from 1995 to 1999. Furthermore, a check of the spectral irradiance scale by six different filter radiometers calibrated for absolute spectral irradiance responsivity based on the high-accuracy cryogenic radiometer shows that the agreement between the present scale and the detector-based scale is better than 1.3% throughout the visible to the near-infrared wavelength region. These results validate the assigned spectral irradiance of the widely disseminated NIST or NIST-traceable standard sources.     

Realization of the National Institute of Standards and Technology detector-based spectral irradiance scale

A detector-based spectral irradiance scale has been realized at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Unlike the previous NIST spectral irradiance scales, the new scale is generated with filter radiometers calibrated for absolute spectral power responsivity traceable to the NIST high-accuracy cryogenic radiometer instead of with the gold freezing-point blackbody. The calibrated filter radiometers are then used to establish the radiance temperature of a high-temperature blackbody (HTBB) operating near 3,000 K The spectral irradiance of the HTBB is then determined with knowledge of the geometric factors and is used to assign the spectral irradiances of a group of 1,000-W free-electron laser lamps. The detector-based spectral irradiance scale results in the reduction of the uncertainties from the previous source-based spectral irradiance scale by at least a factor of 2 in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions. The new detector-based spectral irradiance scale also leads to a reduction in the uncertainties in the shortwave infrared wavelength region by at least a factor of 2-10, depending on the wavelength. Following the establishment of the spectral irradiance scale in the early 1960s, the detector-based spectral irradiance scale represents a fundamental change in the way that the NIST spectral irradiance scale is realized.     

Practical limit of the accuracy of radiometric measurements using HgCdTe detectors

The spectral responsivity of HgCdTe detectors operating in the thermal infrared region was observed to drift slowly with time. The characteristics of the drift were investigated and were shown to have a different origin from the drifts previously reported by one of the authors. Those drifts were caused by a thin film of water ice depositing on the active area of the cold detector. The source of the new drift is far more serious because it is fundamental, making the acquisition of accurate radiometric measurements with these detectors very difficult. It is demonstrated that the source of the new drift is the nonlinearity in the response of the HgCdTe detectors, coupled with the fluctuations of the irradiance reaching them. These fluctuations are due to variations in the thermal background caused by changes in the temperature of objects in the field of view of the detectors. This phenomenon is expected to provide a practical limit to the accuracy of radiometric measurements using not only HgCdTe detectors but also other detectors whose linearity is a function of the thermal background.     

Interpolation of the spectral responsivity of silicon photodetectors in the near ultraviolet

We improve the methods used to interpolate the responsivity of unbiased silicon photodetectors in the near-ultraviolet region. This improvement is achieved by the derivation of an interpolation function for the quantum yield of silicon and by consideration of this function in the interpolation of the internal quantum efficiency of photodiodes. The calculated quantum-yield and spectral-responsivity values are compared with measurement results obtained by the study of a silicon trap detector and with values reported by other research groups. The comparisons show agreement with a standard deviation of 0.4% between our measured and modeled values for both the quantum yield and the spectral responsivity within the wavelength region from 260 to 400 nm. The proposed methods thus extend the predictability of the spectral responsivity of silicon photodetectors to the wavelength region from 260 to 950 nm. Furthermore, an explanation is proposed for the change in the spectral responsivity of silicon photodiodes that is due to UV radiation. In our improved quantum efficiency model the spectral change can be accounted for completely by the adjustment of just one parameter, i.e., the collection efficiency near the SiO(2)/Si interface.     

Comparison of Two Cryogenic Radiometers at NIST

Two cryogenic radiometers from NIST, one from the Optical Technology Division and the other from the Optoelectronics Division, were compared at three visible laser wavelengths. For this comparison, each radiometer calibrated two photodiode trap detectors for spectral responsivity. The calibration values for the two trap detectors agreed within the expanded (k = 2) uncertainties. This paper describes the measurement and results of this comparison.     

红外探测器光谱响应率定标方法

采用新的方法对波长范围1-3μm的红外探测器绝对光谱响应率进行定标.红外探测器的光谱响应率定标是在两套定标系统上利用两种参考探测器实现的.首先在红外光谱比较系统上利用一个平响应的腔式热电堆探测器作为参考探测器,测量待测红外探测器相对于标准探测器的连续光谱响应率;然后在可见一近红外定标系统上,利用低温辐射计和激光器在几个单立波长上进行绝对光谱响应率测量.这样,通过计算就能得出待测红外探测器在每个波长上的绝对光谱响应率.采用上述方法对TS-76探测器进行光谱响应率定标,联合不确定度小于0.95%.     

Highly sensitive PtSi/porous Si Schottky detectors

Presents the first experimental results on PtSi/porous Si Schottky detectors. Si pores have been filled by Pt through electrodeposition. Under proper temperature treatment, Pt reacts with Si creating a PtSi layer that uniformly covers the walls of the pores. The excess unreacted Pt inside the pores is etched away leaving empty spaces behind. The spectral response of such a detector is very wide, covering from 0.9 up to at least 7 /spl mu/m of IR radiation in back illumination mode. Excellent responsivities, such as 60 A/W at 1 /spl mu/m and 0.96 A/W at 4 /spl mu/m of IR radiation is exhibited. Reverse bias current-voltage characteristics exhibit a breakdown type behavior with a breakdown voltage at about 10 V. The general shape of the reverse bias I-V curve, the wide spectral range, and high responsivity are explained through tunneling and avalanche multiplication. It is proposed that large fringing fields developed at sharp edges of the porous surface cause tunneling and avalanche multiplication.     

Improved Near-Infrared Spectral Responsivity Scale

A cryogenic radiometer-based system was constructed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for absolute radiometric measurements to improve detector spectral power responsivity scales in the wavelength range from 900 nm to 1800 nm. In addition to the liquid-helium-cooled cryogenic radiometer, the system consists of a 100 W quartz-tungsten-halogen lamp light source and a 1 m single-grating monochromator for wavelength selection. The system was characterized and the uncertainty in spectral power responsivity measurements evaluated. A variety of photodetectors, including indium gallium arsenide photodiodes (InGaAs), germanium (Ge) photodiodes, and pyroelectric detectors, were subsequently calibrated. Over most of the spectral range, the spectral power responsivity of the photodetectors can be measured with a combined relative standard uncertainty of 0.4 % or less. This is more than a factor of two smaller than our previous capabilities, and represents a significant improvement in the near infrared (NIR) spectral power responsivity scale maintained at NIST. We discuss the characterization of the monochromator-based system and present results of photodetector spectral power responsivity calibrations.     

Method for characterization of filter radiometers

We have developed a new method for characterizing the irradiance responsivity of filter radiometers. The method is based on a spatially uniform, known irradiance, generated by combining several identical laser beams. The measurement setup and the experimental demonstration at one wavelength are presented. The diffraction correction related to the generated irradiance is studied experimentally. The uncertainty analysis of the method indicates a relative standard uncertainty of 1 x 10(-3). The results with the new method are compared with the characterization measurements based on our present spectral-irradiance scale. The results have a relative deviation of 1 x 10(-3), which is well within the combined standard uncertainty of the comparison.