Doppler line profile analysis for a multichannel Fabry-Perot interferometer

Abstract

A new method of instrument calibration and data analysis is presented for single-etalon interferometric measurements of winds, temperatures, and emission line intensities. The technique has been developed for the multichannel Fabry-Perot interferometer on the Dynamics Explorer spacecraft. A numerical representation of the instrumental transfer function is used based on a truncated Fourier series with empirically determined coefficients. The numerical form is compared with the conventional analytic form. The Fourier coefficients describing the instrument function are generated at the wavelength of a stable He-Ne laser and are translated to other wavelengths using an interpolation technique for both phase and power. A quasi-linear least-squares fitting process involving matrices provides for a rapid and accurate data reduction.