Cryogenic Spectrometry For The Measurement Of Airglow And Aurora

A. T. Stair Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.955073

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27 December 1976 Cryogenic Spectrometry For The Measurement Of Airglow And Aurora

A. T. Stair Jr.

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Proceedings Volume 0091, Methods for Atmospheric Radiometry; (1976) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.955073
Event: 20th Annual Technical Symposium, 1976, San Diego, United States

Abstract

The status and history of liquid nitrogen and helium cooled optical sensors are reviewed with summary details on those instruments developed and data obtained by this laboratory and our principal contractors. A liquid nitrogen cooled field widened interferometer spec-trometer covering the spectral range 1 - 2.5 μm has been developed to operate on the ground and has the best NESR (yoise Equivalent Spectral Radiance) of all developed sensors: :10-1 t watts/cm2 sr cm-1 for a 10 sec measurement time with 5 cm -1 resolution. Atmospheric emissions limit the advantages of cryogenic technology for ground based observations at longer wavelengths. Aircraft and balloon-borne systems are discussed, but emphasis is placed on the rocket-borne sensors developed and flown under the ICECAP program sponsored by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and the AFGL. The low resolution (i.e. 4%A) spectro-meters use circular variable filters (CVF) as the spectral resolution element and have the following capabilities: SWIR (1.3 - 5.5 μm), 77° K, 2 scans/sec, NESR ≈10-8 w/cm2 sr pm; LWIR (7 - 25 μm), 4° K, 2 scans/sec, NESR ≈10-11 w/cm2 sr μm @ 20 μm. The high resolution spectrometer is an interferometer cooled with supercritical helium and has the following 1 capability: 4 - 25 μm, Δv = 2 cm-1, 1.3 sec per scan, and the NESR ≈5 x 10-12 watts/cm 2 SR -1

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A. T. Stair Jr. "Cryogenic Spectrometry For The Measurement Of Airglow And Aurora", Proc. SPIE 0091, Methods for Atmospheric Radiometry, (27 December 1976); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.955073

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