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System is polarization tracker and comprises variable polarizer, polarization control, and receiver servo loop. System simultaneously receives desired signal and undesired signal which are approximately orthogonal. They can be either paired as left and right circular polarizations or as cross-linear polarizations.
A fiber-optic current sensor based on the Faraday Effect is developed for aircraft installations. It can measure total lightning current amplitudes and waveforms, including continuing current. Additional benefits include being small, lightweight, non-conducting, safe from electromagnetic interference, and free of hysteresis and saturation. The Faraday Effect causes light polarization to rotate in presence of magnetic field in the direction of light propagation. Measuring the total induced light polarization change yields the total current enclosed. The system operates at 1310nm laser wavelength and can measure approximately 300 A - 300 kA, a 60 dB range. A reflective polarimetric scheme is used, where the light polarization change is measured after a round-trip propagation through the fiber. A two-detector setup measures the two orthogonal polarizations for noise subtraction and improved dynamic range. The current response curve is non-linear and requires a simple spline-fit correction. Effects of high current were achieved in laboratory using combinations of multiple fiber and wire loops. Good result comparisons against reference sensors were achieved up to 300 kA. Accurate measurements on a simulated aircraft fuselage and an internal structure illustrate capabilities that maybe difficult with traditional sensors. Also tested at a commercial lightning test facility from 20 kA to 200 kA, accuracy within 3-10% was achieved even with non-optimum setups.
A receiving system for automatically selecting a desired one of two approximately orthogonally polarized signals occupying the same bandwidth, is described. Received signals are provided by any orthomode antenna system at a pair of output ports, i.e., right hand and left hand circular polarizations or two linear polarizations. The received signals are then applied to the inputs of a hybrid junction to produce sum and difference signals. The resulting sum signal at one output port comprises components of the undesired one of two orthogonally polarized signals and is used to coherently detect and dynamically balance out the undesired signal components that are included at the difference signal port. The desired one of two orthogonally polarized signals is thereby provided at the difference port of the hybrid junction. Feedback loops are used to effect dynamic balancing.
Circular polarization generated by linearly polarized elements. Basic two-by-two subarray of antenna elements made of microstrip patches. Patches arranged in orthogonal pattern. Fed through different phase shifters so signal at feed points have same orthogonal relationship in phase. Antennas of this general type useful in communications and phased-array radar.
Measurements of orthogonal, horizontal components of the magnetic field in the ELF range obtained during September 1985 show that the Schumann resonance eigenfrequencies determined separately for the north-south and east-west magnetic components differ by as much as 0.5 Hz, suggesting that the underlying magnetic signal is not linearly polarized at such times. The high degree of magnetic ellipticity found suggests that the side multiplets of the Schumann resonances corresponding to azimuthally inhomogeneous normal modes are strongly excited in the highly asymmetric earth-ionosphere cavity. The dominant sense of polarization over the measurement passband is found to be right-handed during local daylight hours, and to be left-handed during local nighttime hours.
A system for monitoring the configuration of a surface (e.g., a segmented parabolic surface) using orthogonally placed retroreflectors at sets of points 1, 2, and 3 dispersed throughout the surface with a stationary halfwave plate (HWP) in the front of the one retroreflector at a corner point 3 and a rotating halfwave plate (RHWP) over a source of linearly polarized coherent light, thereby causing the direction of linear polarization to continuously rotate through 360 deg and causing light returned by the retroreflector at point 3 to be continuously phase shifted through 360 deg relative to light returned by retroreflectors at points 1 and 2. The returned light from each set of points 1, 2, and 3 is focused onto a bed-of-nails (BON) phase grating diagonally oriented with respect to the orthogonal orientation of the incident beams from retroreflectors 1, 2, and 3, thereby causing overlap in the light from points 1 and 3 to produce interferometric signals 1,3 and 2,3. Any change in phase of the interferometric signals 1,3 and 2,3 indicates both the magnitude and direction of any change in the position of the retroreflector at point 3 relative to retroreflectors at points 1 and 2.
Vertical profiles of 0.532 μm aerosol particle extinction coefficient and linear volume depolarization ratio are described for Southeast Asia and the Maritime Continent. Quality-screened and cloud-cleared Version 3.01 Level 2 NASA Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) 5-km Aerosol Profile datasets are analyzed from 2007 to 2009. Numerical simulations from the U.S. Naval Aerosol Analysis and Predictive System (NAAPS), featuring two-dimensional variational assimilation of NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Multi-angle Imaging Spectro- Radiometer quality-assured datasets, combined with regional ground-based lidar measurements, are considered for assessing CALIOP retrieval performance, identifying bias, and evaluating regional representativeness. CALIOP retrievals of aerosol particle extinction coefficient and aerosol optical depth (AOD) are high over land and low over open waters relative to NAAPS (0.412/0.312 over land for all data points inclusive, 0.310/0.235 when the per bin average is used and each is treated as single data points; 0.102/0.151 and 0.086/0.124, respectively, over ocean). Regional means, however, are very similar (0.180/0.193 for all data points and 0.155/0.159 when averaged per normalized bin), as the two factors offset one another. The land/ocean offset is investigated, and discrepancies attributed to interpretation of particle composition and a-priori assignment of the extinction-to-backscatter ratio ("lidar ratio") necessary for retrieving the extinction coefficient from CALIOP signals. Over land, NAAPS indicates more dust present than CALIOP algorithms are identifying, indicating a likely assignment of a higher lidar ratio representative of more absorptive particles. NAAPS resolvesmore smoke overwater than identified with CALIOP, indicating likely usage of a lidar ratio characteristic of less absorptive particles to be applied that biases low AOD there. Over open waters except within the Bay of Bengal, aerosol particle scattering is largely capped below 1.5 km MSL, though ground-based lidar measurements at Singapore differ slightly from this finding. Significant aerosol particle presence over land is similarly capped near 3.0 km MSL over most regions. Particle presence at low levels regionally, except over India, is dominated by relatively non-depolarizing particles. Industrial haze, sea salt droplets and fresh smoke are thus most likely present.
An 8.5 GHz dual-channel, dual-polarization traveling-wave maser (TWM) amplifier was installed in the XKR solar system radar cone at DSS 14. The TWM is based on the Blk IIA 8.45 GHz maser structure, with two of the four maser stages being used for each channel, and each maser half then followed by a high-performance GaAs FET amplifier to achieve the desired net gain. A shortened low-noise input waveguide and an orthogonal-mode junction which is cooled to 4.5 K feeds each amplifier chain. The rotation of an external polarizer permits the polarization of each channel to be defined as either linear or circular. A circular waveguide switch was also developed to provide for noise calibration and to protect the maser from incident transmitter power.
A practical technique for calibrating single-antenna polarimetric radar systems is introduced. This technique requires only a single calibration target such as a conducting sphere or a trihedral corner reflector to calibrate the radar system, both in amplitude and phase, for all linear polarization configurations. By using a metal sphere, which is orientation independent, error in calibration measurement is minimized while simultaneously calibrating the crosspolarization channels. The antenna system and two orthogonal channels (in free space) are modeled as a four-port passive network. Upon using the reciprocity relations for the passive network and assuming the crosscoupling terms of the antenna to be equal, the crosstalk factors of the antenna system and the transmit and receive channel imbalances can be obtained from measurement of the backscatter from a metal sphere. For an X-band radar system with crosspolarization isolation of 25 dB, comparison of values measured for a sphere and a cylinder with theoretical values shows agreement within 0.4 dB in magnitude and 5 deg in phase. An effective polarization isolation of 50 dB is achieved using this calibration technique.
A representative sample of 12 extended quasars from the 3CR catalog has been imaged at 4.9 GHz using the Very Large Array (VLA). These full synthesis observations typically achieve an rms noise of 20 micro-Jy per beam. Jets are detected on at least one side of every source. The jets are well collimated compared with those in less powerfull sources, but spreading is detected in most of them. The opening angles of several jets are not constant, but show recollimation after an initial regime of rapid spreading. Many of the jets contain quasiperiodic strings of knots, of which the knot closest to the central feature is usually the brightest (until the jet nears its hot spot). The degrees of linear polarization at the jet knots range from less than 5% to approx. 50%, but show no common trend with distance along the jets. In knots that are elongated in directions close to that of the jet, the E vectors tend to be orthogonal to the jet axis. The prominence of the inner, straighter jet segments relative to the extended lobes correlates significantly with the prominence of the milliarcsecond-scale central features, but the prominence of the more bent jet segments does not. Candidates for counterjet emission are detected in seven sources, but there is no unambiguous, continuous counterjet in any of them. Estimates of the flux density ratios between the straighter jet segments and the counterjets based on these tentative detections range from 1.2:1 to greater than 175:1. There is no evidence in this sample that counterjet detectability correlates with such putative inclination indicators as central feature prominence or projected linear size. There is also no evidence that the prominence of the counterjets anticorrelates with that of the jets as predicted by simple relativistic-beaming models for the jet/counterjet asymmetry. There is, however, strong evidence that large bends in the main jet favor counterjet detection, and there are no counterjet candidates opposite long, uninterrupted straight segments of the main jets. The detectability of the counterjets in these quasars may therefore be strongly influenced by interactions between the underlying beams and inhomogeneities in the surrounding material. We offer a new empirical definition of the term 'hot spot' that is intended to improve the distinction between such features and 'jet knots.' Both the compactness of hot spots and their position in the lobe are affected by whether they are fed by a detectable jet. When the hot spots differ significantly in compactness, the more compact one is always on the jetted side. Jetted hot spots are also more likely to be recessed deeply from the outer edge of their lobes than are their counterjetted counterparts. The jetted hot spot is less prominent relative to other extended emission if the jet bends through a large angle, particularly if a large bend occurs abruptly. The counterjetted hot spot is also less well defined if the jet is more bent. The lobes of several sources show considerable inhomogeneity, including filamentation.
The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP, pronounced the same as "calliope") is a spaceborne two-wavelength polarizatio n lidar that has been acquiring global data since June 2006. CALIOP p rovides high resolution vertical profiles of clouds and aerosols, and has been designed with a very large linear dynamic range to encompas s the full range of signal returns from aerosols and clouds. CALIOP is the primary instrument carried by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrar ed Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite, which was l aunched on April, 28 2006. CALIPSO was developed within the framework of a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency, CNES. I nitial data analysis and validation intercomparisons indicate the qua lity of data from CALIOP meets or exceeds expectations. This paper presents a description of the CALIPSO mission, the CALIOP instrument, an d an initial assessment of on-orbit measurement performance.
A method to distinguish cloud thermodynamic phase from polarized Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements is described. The method employs a simple enumerative approach to classify cloud layers as either liquid water, ice water, or mixed-phase clouds based on the linear volume depolarization ratio and cloud top temperatures derived from Goddard Earth Observing System, version 5 (GEOS-5) assimilated data. Two years of cloud retrievals from the Micro Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) site in Greenbelt, MD are used to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The fraction of supercooled liquid water in the mixed-phase temperature regime (-37 °C – 0 °C) calculated using MPLNET data is compared to similar calculations made using the spaceborne Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument on board the Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite, with reasonable consistency.
A method and device for measuring Faraday rotation of a received RF signal is described. A simultaneous orthogonal polarization receiver compensates for a 3 db loss due to splitting of a received signal into left circular and right circular polarization channels. The compensation is achieved by RF and modulation arraying utilizing a specific receiver array which also detects and measures Faraday rotation in the presence or absence of spin stabilization effects on a linear polarization vector. Either up-link or down-link measurement of Faraday rotation is possible. Specifically, the Faraday measurement apparatus utilized in conjunction with the specific receiver array provides a means for comparing the phase of a reference signal in the receiver array to the phase of a tracking loop signal related to the incoming signal, and comparing the phase of the reference signal to the phase of the tracking signal shifted in phase by 90 degrees. The averaged and unaveraged signals, are compared, the phase changes between the two signals being related to Faraday rotation.
We explore the feasibility of using nominally-orthogonal jets as active aerodynamic load control for multi-element high-lift systems, and whether the nominally-orthogonal jets can offer a variety of performance improvements. These nominally-orthogonal jets inject momentum normal to the airfoil surface near the flap trailing edge, where they create a vortex that entrains flow from the opposing side and change the airfoil circulation. Lift-enhancement opportunities of trailing edge nominally-orthogonal jets have previously been studied by Malavard et al. and Blaylock et al. on single-element airfoils; however, their effect on drag was not thoroughly investigated. In this study, we investigate two- dimensional nominally-orthogonal jet effects on both lift and drag on a two-element airfoil, NLR7301. We utilize Chimera Grid Tools to generate structured curvilinear overset grids, and the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solver OVERFLOW-2 to solve for the flow field around the airfoil. We perform various computational sensitivity studies on the baseline airfoil without a jet to validate computational results against benchmark experimental data. Using a Chimera overset grid topology, we demonstrate a similar lift-enhancement effect between a nominally-orthogonal jet and a nominally-orthogonal physical tab employed at the same location on the studied airfoil. After we introduce the nominally-orthogonal jet concept, we investigate nominally-orthogonal jets with various momentum coefficient settings, C(sub µ) = 0.00 − 0.04 and present a lift-enhancement relationship ∆C(sub l) ≃ 3.59 (C(sub µ)) for this airfoil. We discuss that utilizing a nominally-orthogonal jet with C(sub µ) = 0.01 can shift the linear region of the lift curve by a ∆C(sub l) = 0.36 for the pressure side jet and by a ∆C(sub l) = −0.27 for the suction side jet. Employing a nominally-orthogonal jet is also shown effective in altering the drag. To study the impact, we carry out a drag decomposition study in the form of drag polars. We show for a given C(sub l) = 2.50, a nominally-orthogonal jet with C(sub µ) = 0.01 on the pressure and suction side of the airfoil results in 113 drag count decrements and 41 drag count increments, respectively, compared to the baseline airfoil with no jet. These results show that large and controllable changes in aerodynamic performance can be achieved by relatively small active flow control inputs using the nominally-orthogonal jets presented in this study.
By means of a pair of boresighted and synchronized cameras fitted with orthogonally oriented polarizing filters and carried aboard the Space Shuttle, a large number of polarized images of the earth's surface have been obtained from orbital altitude. Selected pairs of images, both in color and in black and white, have been digitized and computer processed to yield analogous images in each of the three Stokes parameters necessary for characterizing the state of linear polarization of the emergent light. Many of the images show surface properties more distinctly in degree and plane of polarization than in simple intensity alone. However, the maximum information content as well as noise suppression and minimization of atmospheric interference, is achieved by proper combinations of the Stokes parameters. It is believed that these are the first, and certainly the most extensive, set of polarized images of the earth ever obtained from space.
By means of a pair of boresighted and synchronized cameras fitted with orthogonally oriented polarizing filters and carried aboard the Space Shuttle, a large number of polarized images of the earth's surface have been obtained from orbital altitude. Selected pairs of images, both in color and in black and white, have been digitized and computer-processed to yield analogous images in each of the three Stokes parameters necessary for characterizing the state of linear polarization of the emergent light. Many of the images show surface properties more distinctly in degree and plane of polarization than in simple intensity alone. It is believed that these are the first, and certainly the most extensive, set of polarized images of the earth ever obtained from space. Selected pairs of the images are presented here along with some early results of analysis.
This study examines the consistency and microphysics assumptions among satellite ice water content (IWC) retrievals in the upper troposphere with collocated A-Train radiances from Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and lidar backscatters from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). For the cases in which IWC values are small (less than 10mg m(exp-23)), the cloud ice retrievals are constrained by both MLS 240- and 640- GHz radiances and CALIOP 532-nm backscatter beta(532). From the observed relationships between MLS cloud-induced radiance T(sub cir) and the CALIOP backscatter integrated gamma532 along the MLS line of sight, an empirical linear relation between cloud ice and the lidar backscatter is found: IWC/beta532=0.58+/-0.11. This lidar cloud ice relation is required to satisfy the cloud ice emission signals simultaneously observed at microwave frequencies, in which ice permittivity is relatively well known. This empirical relationship also produces IWC values that agree well with the CALIOP, version 3.0, retrieval at values, less than 10mg m(exp-3). Because the microphysics assumption is critical in satellite cloud ice retrievals, the agreement found in the IWC-beta532 relationships increase fidelity of the assumptions used by the lidar and microwave techniques for upper-tropospheric clouds.
Multipolarized airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data were acquired over a largely agricultural test site near Macomb, Illinois, in conjunction with the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-B) experiment in October 1984. The NASA/JPL L-band SAR operating at 1.225 GHz made a series of daily overflights with azimuth view angles both parallel and orthogonal to those of SIR-B. The SAR data was digitally recorded in the quadpolarization configuration. An extensive set of ground measurements were obtained throughout the test site and include biophysical and soil measurements of approximately 400 agricultural fields. Preliminary evaluation of some of the airborne SAR imagery indicates a great potential for crop discrimination and assessment of canopy condition. False color composites constructed from the combination of three linear polarizations (HH, VV, and HV) were found to be clearly superior to any single polarization for purposes of crop classification. In addition, an image constructed using the HH return to modulate intensity and the phase difference between HH and VV returns to modulate chroma indicates a clear capability for assessment of canopy height and/or biomass. In particular, corn fields heavily damaged by infestations of corn borer are readily distinguished from noninfested fields.