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The development and characteristics of the infrared interferometer spectrometer and radiometer (IRIS) instrument for use with the Mariner/Jupiter/Saturn space probe. The subjects discussed are: (1) the electronic design, (2) the opto-mechanical design, (3) reliability analysis, (4) quality control, and (5) program management.
A spatial interferometer for 10-micron wavelength which uses two independent telescopes separated by 5.5 m, heterodyne detection of the infrared radiation, and path equalization by a variable-length RF cable, has given interference fringes from radiation of the planet Mercury. Continuous fringe observations during 4000 sec indicate remarkable stability in the optical-path difference through the atmosphere and the two telescopes, fluctuations between 20-sec averages being about 1/6 of the 10-micron wavelength.
The output of a radio interferometer is the Fourier transform of the object under investigation. Due to the limited coverage of the Fourier plane, the reconstruction of the image of the source is blurred by the beam of the synthesized array. A maximum-likelihood processing technique is described which uses the statistical properties of the received noise-like signals. This technique has been used extensively in the processing of large-aperture seismic arrays. This inversion method results in a synthesized beam that is more uniform, has lower sidelobes, and higher resolution than the normal Fourier transform methods. The maximum-likelihood method algorithm was applied successfully to very long baseline and short baseline interferometric data.
The phase correction for a Michelson interferometer with misaligned mirrors in converging light is shown to give rise to a quadratic phase shift. In general, the calculation of a spectrum from the measured interferogram needs phase correction. Phase corrections have been well worked out for the cases of a linear phase shift and a phase that is slowly varying. The standard procedures for correcting calculated spectra need to be modified, however, to remove any phase errors resulting from misaligned mirrors.
A prototype heterodyne stellar interferometer has been built in order to demonstrate the feasibility of heterodyne techniques in measuring angular diameters of bright infrared stars. The first system tests were performed in December 1972. Attention is given to investigations concerning the possibility that optical air turbulence within the structure of the solar telescope employed can possibly destroy the phase coherence of the fringe signals.
Stepping method permits higher amplitude modulation of secondary mirror of Fourier interferometer. Amplitude of mirror motion is limited only by available voltage drive on error-correcting actuator. Closed-loop controller provides servo error voltage linearly proportional to offset from proper null position. Bidirectional counter serves to count number of reference laser fringes offset from null position.
Expensive optical-grade components in holographic interferometer are replaced with plastic test section and large-aperture spherical mirror to reduce distortions introduced by imperfections and cylindrical shape of plastic. Instrument is used for shock-tube gas density studies and is adaptable to wind-tunnel studies of vehicle windshields and other testing.
The comparison of theoretical and instrument response functions and its use as a procedure for determining the transfer function of the COPE correlation interferometer are summarized. Data show qualitative agreement can be obtained when discrepancies between theory and instrument are investigated and instrument components are analyzed in detail. Data were obtained using a set of calibration data and computer algorithms.
The ATS-6 interferometer provides precision, 3-axis attitude sensing capability. It incorporates a C-band receiver which measures the phase difference of continuous ground station signals received at paired antenna elements and converts this phase difference into digital data that is transmitted to the ground, and is also used as direct input to the onboard digital operations controller for conversion to attitude information. It uses 6 onboard horn antennas, placed in the earth viewing module, with three antennas arranged along each of two orthogonal baselines parallel to the satellite pitch and roll axes, one antenna used as a measurement reference on each baseline, and the remaining two horns, placed to provide phase measurements relative to the respective reference antenna.
Analysis is performed to determine the relationship between the signal-to-noise ratio and the integration time for a spaceborne IR heterodyne spatial interferometer. The analysis includes consideration of the transformation of the interferogram to obtain the angular intensity distribution. The results presented show that for an IR source such as IRC + 10216, an integration time of 50 seconds per interferogram point will yield a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 10 dB in the angular intensity profile obtained from a 30-point transformation.
The data processing equations used to transform an interferometer output signal into a spectrum have been applied to the instrument noise to find the relationship between the signal to noise ratio (S/N) in the interferogram and that in the computed spectrum. Both photon and thermal noises have been taken into account. The results show that the voltage S/N in the spectrum is inversely proportional to the square root of the number of samples so that taking a larger number of samples requires a larger S/N in the interferogram to achieve the same S/N in the spectrum. Numerical examples are given relating the exposure time to design and performance parameters for stellar and atmospheric applications.
Interferometer design separates beams by offsetting centerlines of cat's-eye retroreflectors vertically rather than horizontally. Since beam splitter is insensitive to minimum-thickness condition in this geometry, relatively-low-cost, optically flat plate can be used.
Simplified constant-velocity servosystem for continuous-scan interferometer replaces earlier more complex system designed for atmospheric sampling experiments.
An over-under double pass interferometer in which the beamsplitter area and thickness can be reduced to conform only with optical flatness considerations was achieved by offsetting the optical center line of one cat's-eye retroreflector relative to the optical center line of the other in order that one split beam be folded into a plane distinct from the other folded split beam. The beamsplitter is made transparent in one area for a first folded beam to be passed to a mirror for doubling back and is made totally reflective in another area for the second folded beam to be reflected to a mirror for doubling back. The two beams thus doubled back are combined in the central, beamsplitting area of the beamsplitting and passed to a detector. This makes the beamsplitter insensitive to minimum thickness requirements and selection of material.
The Solar Probe will provide an ideal platform from which to study dynamics of dust particles near the sun by measuring the detailed character of the Fraunhofer structure of the zodiacal light. The suggested instrument is a wideband imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer with state of the art technology in both the optics and the detector. The instrument would function as a high-resolution imaging device providing wavelength resolution of 0.03 A over about a 20 A range. The wideband imaging capability would provide sky maps of the zodiacal light on a despun spacecraft without mechanical scanning. The Solar Probe mission would allow the velocity distribution of the dust to be mapped along most of the trajectory of the spacecraft.
Measurements of the Fresnel-Fizeau effect in a fiber ring interferometer gyroscope are reported. The presence of the dispersion term in the Fresnel drag coefficient was discernable. The temperature dependence of the coefficient bears on the temperature sensitivity of the optical fiber gyroscope. An alternate approach to measuring fiber dispersion is an added benefit, leading to determination of maximum pulse rate transmitted through single-mode fibers.
This paper describes a technique to detect and identify weak, small-diameter radio sources with flux densities in the millijansky range. An interferometer system is proposed which will use existing 64 m and 24 m antennas of the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Network near Canberra. Design parameters of the system are described, and a schematic is presented with attention to low-noise traveling wave masers, and phase oscillation devices.
The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio to be expected when a 180 deg rotationally shearing interferometer is used for image recovery at the diffraction limit of a large telescope is computed. The variance and covariance of the irradiance fluctuations at the detector array are shown to yield measures of the high-frequency spatial spectrum of the source. Four fundamental sources of noise are considered: temporal fluctuations of the source, space-time fluctuations of the atmosphere, shot noise in the detected photocurrents, and the effects of finite sampling. S/N is found to be directly proportional to the angular resolution of the telescope, the single-frame integration time, the square root of the number of frames, the cube of the operating wavelength, the quantum efficiency of the detector, and the average spectral irradiance from the source on the pupil. It is inversely proportional to the cube of the field angle subtended by the source (or part thereof) under study.