This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 8511, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and the Conference Committee listing.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently developing an end-to-end instrument which will provide a proof of concept prototype vehicle for a high data rate, multi-channel, thermal instrument in support of the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI)–Thermal Infrared (TIR) space mission. HyspIRI mission was recommended by the National Research Council Decadal Survey (DS). The HyspIRI mission includes a visible shortwave infrared (SWIR) pushboom spectrometer and a multispectral whiskbroom thermal infrared (TIR) imager. The prototype testbed instrument addressed in this effort will only support the TIR. Data from the HyspIRI mission will be used to address key science questions related to the Solid Earth and Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems focus areas of the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Current designs for the HyspIRI-TIR space borne imager utilize eight spectral bands delineated with filters. The system will have 60m ground resolution, 200mK NEDT, 0.5C absolute temperature resolution with a 5-day repeat from LEO orbit. The prototype instrument will use mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) technology at the focal plane array in time delay integration mode. A custom read out integrated circuit (ROIC) will provide the high speed readout hence high data rates needed for the 5 day repeat. The current HyspIRI requirements dictate a ground knowledge measurement of 30m, so the prototype instrument will tackle this problem with a newly developed interferometeric metrology system. This will provide an absolute measurement of the scanning mirror to an order of magnitude better than conventional optical encoders. This will minimize the reliance on ground control points hence minimizing post-processing (e.g. geo-rectification computations).

We developed 320x256 Complimentary Barrier Infrared (CBIRD) focal plane array (FPA) for long wave infrared (LWIR) imaging application. The FPA layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) had 300 periods 1.9 μm thick absorber. The CBIRD arrays showed the mean dark current density of 2.2 x 10-4 A/cm2, when 128 mV bias voltage was applied. The long wave cut off was observed at 8.8 μm at the 50 % peak and the maximum quantum efficiency was 54 % at 5.6 μm. The arrays had 81 % fill factor with 97 % operability with noise equivalent difference temperature (NEΔT) of 18.6 mK and a mean detectivity of D*=1.3 x 1011 Hz1/2/W.

The barrier infrared detector device architecture offers the advantage of reduced dark current resulting from suppressed Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination and surface leakage. The versatility of the antimonide material system, with the availability of three different types of band offsets for flexibility in device design, provides the ideal setting for implementing barrier infrared detectors. We describe the progress made at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in recent years in Barrier infrared detector research that resulted in high-performance quantum structure infrared detectors, including the type-II superlattice complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD), and the high operating quantum dot barrier infrared detector (HOT QD-BIRD).

Infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) covering broad mid- and long-IR spectral ranges are the central parts of the spectroscopic and imaging instruments in several Earth and planetary science missions. To be implemented in the space instrument these FPAs need to be large-format, uniform, reproducible, low-cost, low 1/f noise, and radiation hard. Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIPs), which possess all needed characteristics, have a great potential for implementation in the space instruments. However a standard QWIP has only a relatively narrow spectral coverage. A multi-color QWIP, which is compromised of two or more detector stacks, can to be used to cover the broad spectral range of interest. We will discuss our recent work on development of multi-color QWIP for Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer instruments. We developed QWIP compromising of two stacks centered at 9 and 10.5 μm, and featuring 9 grating regions optimized to maximize the responsivity in the individual subbands across the 7.5-12 μm spectral range. The demonstrated 1024x1024 QWIP FPA exhibited excellent performance with operability exceeding 99% and noise equivalent differential temperature of less than 15 mK across the entire 7.5-12 μm spectral range.

In this work, we have used the optical modulation response technique to investigate the minority carrier lifetimes in (42 Å, 21 Å) InAs/GaSb superlattices. The feasibility of using a visible 643 nm excitation source with short penetration depth was investigated by comparing the results to reference measurements performed with a 1550 nm IR laser. Minority carrier lifetimes in the range of 33 – 38 ns were observed, in good agreement with the reference measurements. Furthermore, when comparing superlattices with essentially the same PL peak wavelength, correlation between the minority carrier lifetime and the PL intensity was observed. This shows that the PL intensity serves as a good indicator of the material quality.

New generation of focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on type II SLS, which are hybrids of detector array and Read Out Integrated Circuits (ROIC), present extraordinary challenge to characterize. The standard performance metrics are: temporal NEΔT, noise equivalent irradiance (NEI), quantum efficiency, dark current and modulation transfer function (MTF). Imaging system modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is an important quantitative metric of performance in spatial domain, but it is rarely reported in the literature especially for type II SLS. MTF measurement is believed to be a good metric of performance for camera systems in addition to standard performance parameters. The paper will report on the characterization of complimentary barrier infrared detector n-CBIRD FPA.

Long Wavelength infrared photodetectors based on Type-II superlattices from the 6.1Å system hold great promise for a wide variety of applications. However, as these materials are fabricated into focal plane arrays for real world applications, the small pixel sizes that are required can result in unacceptably high dark current due to a significant contribution of surface-induced leakage. These surface currents could be substantially reduced or even eliminated by the application of an appropriate passivation material. But, while a considerable amount of effort has gone into developing passivation processes and materials for these detectors (e.g. PECVD SiO2, polyimides, etc.), there is no one widely adopted standard technique in use today. Atomic layer deposition has the possibility of being an excellent method for depositing passivation because of the wide variety of materials that are readily available via ALD and the ability to conformally coat arbitrary topographies that may be found in the patterning of LWIR FPAs. In this work, fundamental materials characterization results and electrical test data will be presented for two wide band gap, high-K dielectrics (Titanium Oxide and Hafnium Oxide) looking at their nucleation and growth behavior on substrates of relevant III-V materials such as GaSb and InAs using ellispometry, XPS, and XRD. These results will be compared to more conventional passivation strategies to highlight the unique features of the ALD technique.

The high resolution and low measurement uncertainty goals for next generation atmospheric sounders will require FTS-based spectrometers which exhibit improved velocity stability and disturbance rejection over previous systems. This paper documents the characterization of and improvements made to existing SDL FTS systems as part of an internal study to meet the demands of future missions. Improved velocity tracking and disturbance rejection performance is documented along with selected lessons learned.

LINC-NIRVANA (LN) is the near-infrared, Fizeau-type imaging interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mt. Graham, Arizona, USA (3267m of elevation). The instrument is currently being built by a consortium of German and Italian institutes under the leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany. It will combine the radiation from both 8.4m primary mirrors of LBT in such a way that the sensitivity of a 11.9m telescope and the spatial resolution of a 22.8m telescope will be obtained within a 10.5arcsec x 10.5arcsec scientific field of view. Interferometric fringes of the combined beams are tracked in an oval field with diameters of 1 and 1.5arcmin. In addition, both incoming beams are individually corrected by LN’s multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) system to reduce atmospheric image distortion over a circular field of up to 6arcmin in diameter. This paper gives a comprehensive technical overview of the instrument comprising the detailed design of LN’s four major systems for interferometric imaging and fringe tracking, both in the NIR range of 1 - 2.4μm, as well as atmospheric turbulence correction at two altitudes, both in the visible range of 0.6 - 0.9μm. The resulting performance capabilities and a short outlook of some of the major science goals will be presented. In addition, the roadmap for the related assembly, integration and verification (AIV) process will be discussed. To avoid late interface-related risks, strategies for early hardware as well as software interactions with the telescope have been elaborated. The goal is to ship LN to the LBT in 2014.

The joint U.S. and German Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a program to develop and operate a 2.5-meter infrared airborne telescope in a Boeing 747SP, has obtained first science with the FORCAST camera in the 5 to 40 micron spectral region and the GREAT heterodyne spectrometer in the 130 to 240 micron spectral region. We briefly review the characteristics and status of the observatory. Spectacular science results on regions of star formation will be discussed. The FORCAST images show several discoveries and the potential for determining how massive stars form in our Galaxy. The GREAT heterodyne spectrometer has made mapping observations of the [C II] line at 158 microns, high J CO lines, and other molecular lines including SH. The HIPO high speed photometer and the high speed camera FDC were used to observe the 2011 June 23 UT stellar occultation by Pluto.

Photonics engineers involved in designing and operating Fourier transform spectrometers (FTS) often rely on Maxwell’s wave equations and time-frequency (distance-wavenumber) Fourier theory as models to understand and predict the conversion of optical energy to electrical signals in their instruments. Dr. Chandrasekhar Roychoudhuri and his colleagues, at last year’s conference, presented three significant concepts that might completely change the way we comprehend the interaction of light and matter and the way interference information is generated. The first concept is his non-interaction of waves (NIW) formulation, which puts in place an optical wave description that more accurately describe the properties of the finite time and spatial signals of an optical system. The second is a new description for the cosmic EM environment that recognizes that space is really filled with the ether of classical electromagnetics. The third concept is a new metaphysics or metaphotonics that compares the photon as a particle in a void against the photon as a wave in a medium to see which best explain the twelve different aspects of light. Dr. Henry Lindner presents a compelling case that photons are waves in a medium and particles (electrons, protons, atoms) are wave-structures embedded in the new ether. Discussion of the three new principles is intended to increase the curiosity of photonics engineers to investigate these changes in the nature of light and matter.

We demonstrate the airborne measurement of atmospheric methane using a pulsed lidar at 1650 nm using an integrated path differential absorption scheme. Our seeded nanosecond-pulsed optical parametric amplifier (OPA)-based instrument works up to the highest altitudes flown (<10 km). The obtained absorption profile is in good agreement with theoretical predictions based on the HITRAN database.

The 3 to 4 µm wavelength range is of special interest for sensing applications. Interband cascade lasers (ICLs) have proven to be very attractive lasers for this range. We report on design optimizations of ICLs to reduce the dissipated threshold power with the aim to improve the high temperature performance. Distributed feedback ICLs with vertical sidewall gratings show single mode emission and they operate in continuous wave mode at room temperature. The devices exhibit side-mode suppression ratios of ~25 dB and typical fine tuning rates of 0.09 nm/mA and 0.3 nm/K. Therewith, the presented devices are very suitable for hydrocarbon sensing applications.

AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs double-barrier resonant-tunneling diodes (RTD) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy with a nearby, lattice-matched GaInNAs absorption layer. RTD mesas with ring contacts and an aperture for optical excitation of charge carriers were fabricated on the epitaxial layers. Electrical and optical properties of the RTDs were investigated for different thicknesses of a thin GaAs spacer layer incorporated between the tunnel AlGaAs barrier adjacent to the GaInNAs absorption layer. Illumination of the RTDs with laser light of 1.3 µm wavelength leads to a pronounced photo-effect with a sensitivity of around 1000 A/W.

Doping of the lead telluride and related alloys with the group III impurities results in appearance of the unique physical features of a material, such as persistent photoresponse, enhanced responsive quantum efficiency (up to 100 photoelectrons/incident photon), high radiation hardness and many others. We present the physical principles of operation of the photodetecting devices based on the group III-doped IV-VI including the possibilities of a fast quenching of the persistent photoresponse, construction of the focal-plane array, and others. We report on the performance of lead telluride-based single direct detectors. The optical NEP on the order of 10-19 W/Hz1/2 at T=1.57 K has been demonstrated at the wavelength of 350 m. The advantages of terahertz photodetecting systems based on the group III-doped IV-VI are summarized.

The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) deployed on board different research aircraft shall provide a detailed picture of the UTLS region. GLORIA uses a two-dimensional detector array for infrared limb-observations. The GLORIA in-flight calibration system consists of two identical large-area high-precision blackbodies, which are independently controlled at two different temperatures. Thermo-Electric Coolers are used to control the temperature of the blackbodies. The system has been comprehensively characterized for its spatially and spectrally resolved radiation properties in terms of radiation temperature traceable to the international temperature scale (ITS-90) at the national metrology institute of Germany (PTB).

The High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) instrument is a 21-channel limb scanning infrared radiometer, designed to make global measurements of temperature, ozone, water vapor, eight other gases and aerosols from 8 to as high as 80 km. with 1 km. vertical resolution. During launch on NASA’S Aura satellite a piece of interior lining material became lodged in the foreoptics, reducing the effective aperture by 80-95%, and inserting another signal into the system. The HIRDLS team has worked for several years to develop corrections for these effects, and recover as many as possible of the planned capabilities. This talk describes the last and probably final set of algorithms to recover the planned species. Early work developed corrections for channels with large radiances allowing temperature and ozone to be retrieved. Subsequent work has concentrated on refining these to allow species such as nitric acid, chlorofluorocarbons 11 & 12, nitrogen dioxide, N2O5, chlorine nitrate, nitrous oxide and water vapor to be recovered. Effort has gone into studying, then parameterizing in an adaptive way, the quasi-regular way the signal from the blockage varies with time during an orbit and during the mission. Several recent improvements are described. Results of these corrections show improvements in the retrieved products.

The Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) will be flown on board the EarthCARE spacecraft, under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The fundamental objective of the EarthCARE mission is improving the understanding of the processes involving clouds, aerosols and radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere. In addition to the MSI instrument, a Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR), an Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID), and a Broadband Radiometer (BBR) complete the payload of the EarthCARE satellite. By acquiring images of the clouds and aerosol distribution, the MSI instrument will provide important contextual information in support of the radar and lidar geophysical retrievals. The MSI development philosophy is based on the early development of an Engineering Confidence Model (ECM) and the subsequent development of a Proto-flight Model, the model to be launched on-board the EarthCARE satellite. This paper provides an overview of the MSI instrument and its development approach. A description of the ECM and its verification program is also provided.

To observe the global column concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) from space, the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) was launched on January 23, 2009, and has started the operational observation. Thermal and Near Infrared Sensor for Carbon Observation– Fourier Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) has been continuously measuring CO₂ and CH₄ distributions globally, and the retrieved column CO₂ and CH₄ data have been distributed to the public. Over three-years operational periods, the useful scientific data sets and interesting articles for carbon source/sink evaluation were produced and published, and these results have been supporting to well understanding of carbon cycle. Currently, the importance of space-based carbon observation has been approved and desired the continuous observation in toward. Through the TANSO-FTS operation with the radiometric, geometric and spectroscopic characterizations, we learned how to improve the accuracy of X_CO2 and X_CH4 based on short-wavelength FTS. The correction procedures for micro-vibration from companion components, non-linear response of analogue and digitizing circuit are key role on the current on-board operating TANSO-FTS. On instrumental aspects, the robustness and improvements will be required on the future mission. To elucidate the carbon cycle more precisely, our experiences have to be summarized and applied in the future missions. In this presentation, the detail of lessons and learned from TANSO-FTS operation will be presented.

The FIRST (Far-InfraRed Spectroscopy of the Troposphere) instrument is a 10 to 100 micron spectrometer with 0.64 micron resolution designed to measure the complete mid and far-infrared radiance of the Earth's Atmosphere. FIRST has been successfully used to obtain high-quality atmospheric radiance data from the ground and from a high-altitude balloon. A Fourier transform interferometer is used to provide the spectral resolution and two on-board blackbodies are used for calibration. This paper discusses the recent re-calibration of FIRST at Space Dynamics Laboratory for absolute radiance accuracy. The calibration used the LWRICS (Long Wave Infrared Calibration Source) blackbody, which NIST testing shows to be accurate to the ~100 mK level in brightness temperature. There are several challenges to calibrating FIRST, including the large dynamic range, out of phase light, and drift in the interferogram phase. The accuracy goal for FIRST was 0.2 K over most of the 10 to 100 micron range, and results show FIRST meets this goal for a range of target temperatures.

It is well known that the varying geometrical relationships between the Sun and the Earth throughout the year affect to some degree the performance of the instruments onboard Earth orbiting satellites. Following the commissioning of MetOp-A, EUMETSAT and NOAA have continued monitoring the long term trends in in-orbit performance of AVHRR, HIRS and AMSU-A. The data acquired since the launch of the satellite has allowed studying how the yearly seasonal variations, as well as aging, have affected the instrument performance. This paper presents the evolution of the performance of the AVHRR, HIRS and AMSU-A for more than five years since the launch of the MetOp-A satellite.

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) generates products derived from AIRS/AMSU-A observations, starting from September 2002 when the AIRS instrument became stable, using the AIRS Science Team Version-5 retrieval algorithm. This paper shows results of some of our research using Version-5 products from the points of view of improving forecast skill as well as aiding in the understanding of climate processes.

Recent topics of micro-scale thermal imaging on advanced organic and polymeric materials are presented, the originally developed IR camera systems equipped with a real time direct impose-signal capturing device and a laser drive generating a modulated spot heating with a diode laser, controlled by the x-y positioning actuator, has been applied to measure the micro-scale thermal phenomena. The advanced organic and polymeric materials are now actively developed especially for the purpose of the effective heat dissipation in the new energy system, including, LED, Lithium battery, Solar cell, etc. The micro-scale thermal imaging in the heat dissipation process has become important in view of the effective power saving. In our system, the imposed temperature data are applied to the pixel emissivity corrections and visualizes the anisotropic thermal properties of the composite materials at the same time. The anisotropic thermal diffusion in the ultra-drawn high-thermal conductive metal-filler composite polymer film and the carbon-cloth for the battery systems are visualized.

At present there is a lack of commercial software packages able to perform differential temperature gradient analysis. This is an innovative and fundamental tool to speed up the recognition of thermal anomalies revealing finishing damages like detachments. This paper presents a photogrammetric methodology aimed at mapping IR thermal images on 3D models created with terrestrial laser scanning technology. The attention is focused on building, where a standard RGB texture of the 3D model will coupled to temperature values. Each facade will be then transformed into an orthophoto and processed in a GIS environment to support new thermal analysis. The developed image processing pipeline will be illustrated starting from data acquisition up to data visualization and management.

This work describes a temperature and emissivity measurement methodology that applies the multi-wavelength pyrometry principle to IR thermography using two IR cameras in a stereo arrangement with detectors working in different wavelength bands. The two radiation distributions measured by the IR cameras are rebuilt on the object surface mesh by means of the pinhole camera model and are used to write a system of equations in which emissivities and temperatures are unknown quantities. By solving the system, the temperature and directional emissivity of the material under test can be measured for each wavelength band.

New foundry processes continue to produce smaller features and new designs. These new devices must be screened to validate their usefulness for long lifetime use. The Failure-in-Time analysis in conjunction with foundry qualification information can be used to evaluate foundry device lifetimes. This analysis is a helpful tool when zero failure life tests are performed. The reliability of the device is estimated by applying the failure rate to the use conditions. JEDEC publications.^2,3,4 are the industry accepted methods.

Raytheon continues to build large format digital visible focal planes. This paper provides the most recent performance to date in operability and performance.

The paper presents the metrological analysis of the light sources which have a form of several optically connected integrating spheres. This light sources contain several (3 ... 11) primary integrating spheres of small diameters that are installed on a secondary integrating sphere of bigger diameter. The initial light sources – halogen lamps or light emitted diodes are installed inside the primary integrating spheres. These spheres are mounted on the secondary integrating sphere. The radiation comes from the primary integrating spheres to the secondary one through the diaphragms which diameters can be varied. It makes possible to control the total flux coming through the diaphragms and to set the required output radiance. The secondary integrating sphere has an output aperture where uniform radiance emits. The paper discusses the technique for calculation of the precision of the output radiance according to variations of optical and geometrical parameters of the light source. There are investigated influences of power supply, reflectance properties, diameters of internal surfaces of the integrating spheres and diameters of diaphragms between the integrating spheres. The precision of the output radiance is better than 1.9 % for the non-expensive light sources. For the high-quality light sources it can reach 0.7 %. The possible range of the output radiance is from 0 to 1 200 W/(st•m²). These facts confirm the sufficient metrological advantages of the proposed light sources for absolute radiometric measurements. The proposed light sources can be considered as one of the best candidates for calibration of the modern remote sensing instruments and high quality imaging systems working in optical range 0.4 – 2.2 μkm.

In this work we report the improvement of signal-to-noise ratio in photoplethysmographic images by using a linear polarized filtered light source and the capture of the corresponding scene through a linear polarized analyzer; we also discuss the impact of its use in non-contact reflection photoplethysmographic setups. In all regions in which we acquire useful signals, we observe a reduction in the intensity of the images when the angle between the axes of the polarizer and the analyzer goes from parallel to perpendicular. Despite this, we obtain an increased ratio between the expected pulsatile signal and the background noise. As a consequence, the extinction of the specular component of the image should be considered for any experimental setup intended to detect the backscattered component.

We present optical methods for edge enhancement in color images using optical derivative operations (first order derivative and Laplacian operator). The proposed methods is based on the polarization properties of liquid-crystal displays (LCD) and on the capacity of digital micro mirror devices to generate a (positive) copy of the digital image used as input, and simultaneously a complementary color replica of it. In the proposed optical setup the negative and positive replicas are at the same time imagined across a plane. First we analyzed the case when the negative replica has a lateral differential displacement relative to the original one; an image with enhanced first derivatives along a specific direction is obtained. In the case when the negative replica is low-pass filtered, one obtains the Laplacian of the original image. Unlike Fourier, our proposal works with incoherent illumination and does not require precise alignment, and thus, it could be a useful tool for edge extraction/enhancement in large images in real-time applications. Validation experiments are presented.

Bringing the image of a static object to the focus of a system is a relative easy task. However, when the object is being moved, the system has to be adapting some parameters according to the object displacement. For small movements, some detection systems are not able to distinguish the new position of the object. The Vectorial Shearing interferometer (VSI) is able to detect small changes in the position through the measurement of the defocus associated with this displacement. We present a method to detect and asses defocus of a wavefront by using a VSI. We present experimental results.