It is well known within the Space optics community that radiation may significantly affect transmittance of glasses. To overcome this drawback, glass manufacturers have developed Cerium doped counterparts of classical glasses. This doped glasses display much less transmittance sensitivity to radiation. Still, the impact of radiation on refractive index is less known and may affect indifferently classical or Cerium doped glasses.
ESTEC has initialised an R&D program with the aim of establishing a comprehensive data base gathering radiation sensitivity data, called Dose coefficients, for all the glass optical parameters (transmittance / refractive index / compaction……). The first part of this study, to define the methodology for such a data base, is run by ASTRIUM SAS in co-operation with SCK CEN. This covers theoretical studies associated to testing of a selected set of classical and "radiation hardened" glasses.
It is proposed here to present first the theoretical backgrounds of this study and then to give results which have been obtained so far.
Large reflectors and antennas for the IR to mm wavelength range are being planned for many Earth observation and astronomical space missions and for commercial communication satellites as well. Scientific observatories require large telescopes with precisely shaped reflectors for collecting the electro-magnetic radiation from faint sources. The challenging tasks of on-ground testing are to achieve the required accuracy in the measurement of the reflector shapes and antenna structures and to verify their performance under simulated space conditions (vacuum, low temperatures). Due to the specific surface characteristics of reflectors operating in these spectral regions, standard optical metrology methods employed in the visible spectrum do not provide useful measurement results.
The current state-of-the-art commercial metrology systems are not able to measure these types of reflectors because they have to face the measurement of shape and waviness over relatively large areas with a large deformation dynamic range and encompassing a wide range of spatial frequencies. 3-D metrology (tactile coordinate measurement) machines are generally used during the manufacturing process. Unfortunately, these instruments cannot be used in the operational environmental conditions of the reflector.
The application of standard visible wavelength interferometric methods is very limited or impossible due to the large relative surface roughnesses involved. A small number of infrared interferometers have been commercially developed over the last 10 years but their applications have also been limited due to poor dynamic range and the restricted spatial resolution of their detectors. These restrictions affect also the surface error slopes that can be captured and makes their application to surfaces manufactured using CRFP honeycomb technologies rather difficult or impossible.
It has therefore been considered essential, from the viewpoint of supporting future ESA exploration missions, to develop and realise suitable verification tools based on infrared interferometry and other optical techniques for testing large reflector structures, telescope configurations and their performances under simulated space conditions.
Two methods and techniques are developed at CSL.
The first one is an IR-phase shifting interferometer with high spatial resolution. This interferometer shall be used specifically for the verification of high precision IR, FIR and sub-mm reflector surfaces and telescopes under both ambient and thermal vacuum conditions.
The second one presented hereafter is a holographic method for relative shape measurement. The holographic solution proposed makes use of a home built vacuum compatible holographic camera that allows displacement measurements from typically 20 nanometres to 25 microns in one shot. An iterative process allows the measurement of a total of up to several mm of deformation. Uniquely the system is designed to measure both specular and diffuse surfaces.
Backscatter lidars are useful tools for range determination in various applications, particularly if they provide compact and robust set-ups with suitable light sources, efficient sensors and adequate signal processing. A promising perspective to achieve such requirements is offered by the Pseudo-Random Noise continuous wave (PRN cw) lidar technique, employing cw laser diodes as transmitter. Here the Signal-to-Noise ratio (SNR) of such lidar will be investigated in detail for the following cases: power (amplitude) modulation of the transmitted laser beam and analogue detection by an avalanche photodiode, surface detection. The SNR is calculated numerically, allowing selection of the factors limiting the lidar detection under various environmental conditions. A set of various measurements, obtained with a PRN cw lidar, employing a diode laser in the near IR spectral range and an avalanche photodiode will be presented. The results from the analytical and numerical study are compared with the experimental results. Various applications for the PRN cw lidar will be examined and critical factors influencing its detection performances discussed. Finally an outlook is provided for possible applications of such a lidar in specific atmospheric and surface measurements.
ESA currently builds the airborne hyper-spectral push broom imaging spectrometer APEX (Airborne Prism EXperiment) operating in the spectral range from 380 to 2500 nm. In the scope of the APEX project a large variety of characterization measurements will be performed, e.g., on-board characterization, frequent laboratory characterization, and vicarious calibration. The APEX instrument will only achieve its challenging measurement accuracy by regular calibration of the instrument between flight cycles. For that on-ground characterisation, a dedicated characterisation and calibration facility is necessary to enable a comprehensive and accurate calibration of the instrument. In view of the high relevance to scientific objectives, ESA is funding an external "Calibration Home Base" (CHB). It is located at DLR Oberpfaffenhofen and will be operational from 2006 on. The CHB provides all hard- and software tools required for radiometric, spectral and geometric on-ground characterisation and calibration of the instrument and its internal references and on-board attachments, and to perform measurements on polarisation- and straylight-sensitivity. This includes a test bed and the provision of the infrastructure. In this paper the calibration equipment and concept is outlined.
The next generation of infrared - sub mm space telescopes requires reflectors with large dimensions, high quality and, according to weight issues, are based on composite or new materials technology. The challenging tasks of on-ground testing are to achieve the required accuracy in the measurement of these reflectors shape and antenna structures and to verify their performance under simulated space conditions (vacuum, low-high temperatures). A holographic camera for the verification and validation of this type of reflector in a space environment is presented. A diffuser is implemented to measure the deformations of reflective surfaces in a more flexible way. The system has been made compatible with the vacuum conditions. Some elements of the holographic camera (camera lenses, CCD, crystal,
optical fibre) have been adapted and tested under vacuum. The metrological certification of the whole system is realised by the measurement of a parabolic CFRP reflector with a 1.1 meter diameter. The results are compared to the one achieved with a high spatial resolution IR interferometer on the same reflector in laboratory conditions and under thermal vacuum conditions. This later test consists in measuring the deformations of the reflector between an initial state at a selected temperature and a final state at another temperature. The comparison between the high spatial resolution IR interferometer and this dynamic holographic method showed very good qualitative and quantitative agreement between the techniques, thus verifying the potential of this new Holographic approach.
APEX is a dispersive pushbroom imaging spectrometer operating in the spectral range between 380 - 2500 nm. The spectral resolution will be better than 10 nm in the SWIR and < 5 nm in the VNIR range of the solar reflected range of the spectrum. The total FOV will be ± 14 deg, recording 1000 pixels across track with about 300 spectral bands simultaneously. A large variety of characterization measurements will be performed in the scope of the APEX project, e.g., on-board characterization, frequent laboratory characterization, and vicarious calibration. The retrieved calibration parameters will allow a data calibration in the APEX Processing and Archiving Facility (PAF). The data calibration includes the calculation of the required, time-dependent calibration coefficients from the calibration parameters and, subsequently, the radiometric, spectral and geometric calibration of the raw data. Because of the heterogeneity of the characterization measurements, the optimal calibration for each data set is achieved using a special assimilation algorithm. In the paper the different facilities allowing characterization measurements, the PAF and the new data assimilation scheme are outlined.
APEX (Airborne Prism EXperiment) is a project of the European Space Agency ESA focusing on high accuracy simulation, calibration and validation for spaceborne remote sensing instruments. The instrumentation comprises a hyperspectral imager for various standard airborne platforms, a fixed installed calibration home base and a complete facility for data processing and archiving. The pushbroom-type instrument accommodates two spectrometer channels covering a spectral range from 0.38 up to 2.5 micron. The spatial/spectral resolution amounts to 1000 samples at 28-degree field of view with 312 spectral bands. The overall instrument design and its built-in characterization unit will allow excellent performance stability under various flight conditions. The presentation will focus on the design, development and realization phases of the instrument and discuss various highlights of technical achievements, as there are the infrared HgCdTe detector with extended array format for the short wave infrared channel, the thermal/mechanical stabilization of the spectrometer and the realization of the infrastructure for high accuracy characterization and calibration of the instrument.
Recently, a joint Swiss/Belgian initiative started a project to build a new generation airborne imaging spectrometer, namely APEX (Airborne Prism Experiment) under the ESA funding scheme named PRODEX. APEX is a dispersive pushbroom imaging spectrometer operating in the spectral range between 380 - 2500 nm. The spectral resolution will be better then 10 nm in the SWIR and < 5 nm in the VNIR range of the solar reflected range of the spectrum. The total FOV will be ± 14 deg, recording 1000 pixels across track with max. 300 spectral bands simultaneously. APEX is subdivided into an industrial team responsible for the optical instrument, the calibration homebase, and the detectors, and a science and operational team, responsible for the processing and archiving of the imaging spectrometer data, as well as for its operation. APEX is in its design phase and the instrument will be operationally available to the user community in the year 2006.
We present results from experimental investigations on different laser sources for 3D imaging lidars. The lasers investigated include microchip lasers and fiber lasers and the results are compared to results obtained with diode lasers. The potential of the laser candidates for spaceborne 3D imaging sensors based on the pulsed time-of-flight principle is analyzed. Analysis include limitations in radar key parameters such as peak power, pulse width, beam divergence, parameter stability, efficiency, and impact on sensor mass and volume. After trade-off and selection of suitable laser sources, breadboard models have been realized and tested.
Over the past few years, a joint Swiss/Belgium ESA initiative resulted in a project to build a precursor mission of future spaceborne imaging spectrometers, namely APEX (Airborne Prism Experiment). APEX is designed to be an airborne dispersive pushbroom imaging spectrometer operating in the solar reflected wavelength range between 4000 and 2500 nm. The system is optimized for land applications including limnology, snow, and soil, amongst others. The instrument is optimized with various steps taken to allow for absolute calibrated radiance measurements. This includes the use of a pre- and post-data acquisition internal calibration facility as well as a laboratory calibration and a performance model serving as a stable reference. The instrument is currently in its breadboarding phase, including some new results with respect to detector development and design optimization for imaging spectrometers. In the same APEX framework, a complete processing and archiving facility (PAF) is developed. The PAF not only includes imaging spectrometer data processing up to physical units, but also geometric and atmospheric correction for each scene, as well as calibration data input. The PAF software includes an Internet based web-server and provides interfaces to data users as well as instrument operators and programmers. The software design, the tools and its life cycle are discussed as well.
The development of a canister-free videogrammetry system is presented. Applications in view, are coordinate measurements during thermal vacuum test and on-baord space flight metrology of mechanical structures, reflectors and antenna's. The paper presents the breadboard system architecture. Two breadboards have been developed. One is based on a space-qualified micro-imager camera. Lenses and flashers are all commercial components and have been made vacuum compatible. Results of accuracy (typically 50ppm) and resolution (typically 25 ppm) tests, in ambient and in vacuum are also presented.
Radiation sensitivity of glass is a general concern for the designer of space optical instruments. It has been proposed that the effect of radiation can be described within the dose coefficient approximation. In the paper we discuss the effect of gamma and proton radiation on the transmission and the refractive index of a number of commercial optical glasses. This experimental study is intended for establishment of a data-base, which will be useful to predict the effect of space radiation on optical systems.
During the past 30 years of development of Space optical instrumentation for such missions as METEOSAT, SPOT, HIPPARCOS and SILEX with ESA and CNES, Matra Marcon Space (MMS) has conducted extensive studies on the behavior of optical materials under irradiation such as quantifying transmission losses in optical glasses and measuring the dimensional stability of Zerodur as a substrate for mirror applications. Thanks to this background experience, MMS, in cooperation with SCK-CEN, is conducting a study (under ESA sponsorship) to define the approach for the gathering of a comprehensive data base to quantify these effects through the use of linear sensitivity coefficients (so-called `Dose Coefficients'). This follows recent investigations which have shown that the space radiation environment can affect not only transmission but also other characteristics of refractive optical materials in both classical and Cerium doped glasses. A number of selected examples from specific MMS studies will first be shown. Then, the actual approach being taken to this problem, on the basis of already obtained results from preliminary experiments performed by ESTEC, will be presented.
The Ml I erWede Goni ometer-Spectrometer Model 2 is a medi urn-high accuracy instrument for the determination of prism angles and index of refraction in the visible wavelength range (400-700nrn) With its automatic Heidenhain rotary encoder the instrument is capab''e of absolute accuracy to I O arcsec for prism angle measurements and i x I 05 for index of refraction measurements. Recently we have developed a modified version of this instrument to provide absolute index of refraction measurements in the wavelength range from the UV through the near IR (254nm-2325 nm). The absolute accuracy for index of refraction measurements in the range is j INIRQDILTIQt4 The classical methods of Rudberg and Franhoer are still the most accurate means of determining the absolute index oT refraction or bulk optical materials. Both methods utilize a collimator and telescope pair which are both focused at inflnity. The former is normally flxed and the latter is mounted on a goniometer arm equipped with a precision graduated circle to provide absolute angular position of the telescope. The collimator is used to project the slit image o various spectral lines through a prism made from the material to be tested Usually spectral lamps are used for the light sources but lasers have also been used. The telescope and the sample prism are each rotated about the vertical axis of the goniometer so that each is set at proper angle to produce a minimum angle of deflection of the projected slit image with the desired wavelength. The goniometer arm and telescope are then fine-adjusted so that the slit image 32 / SPIE Vol. 1327 Properties and Characteristics of Optical Glass II (1990)
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