David M. Rider

Tropospheric emission spectrometer for the Earth Observing System's Aura satellite.

The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) is an imaging infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer scheduled to be launched into polar Sun-synchronous orbit aboard the Earth Observing System’s Aura satellite in June 2003. The primary objective of the TES is to make global three-dimensional measurements of tropospheric ozone and of the physical–chemical factors that control its formation, destruction, and distribution. Such an ambitious goal requires a highly sophisticated cryogenic instrument operating over a wide frequency range, which, in turn, demands state-of-the-art infrared detector arrays. In addition, the measurements require an instrument that can operate in both nadir and limb-sounding modes with a precision pointing system. The way in which these mission objectives flow down to the specific science and measurement requirements and in turn are implemented in the flight hardware are described. A brief overview of the data analysis approach is provided.

Laser ablation of human atherosclerotic plaque without adjacent tissue injury

Seventy samples of human cadaver atherosclerotic aorta were irradiated in vitro using a 308 nm xenon chloride excimer laser. Energy per pulse, pulse duration and frequency were varied. For comparison, 60 segments were also irradiated with an argon ion and an Nd:YAG (neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet) laser operated in the continuous mode. Tissue was fixed in formalin, sectioned and examined microscopically. The Nd:YAG and argon ion-irradiated tissue exhibited a central crater with irregular edges and concentric zones of thermal and blast injury. In contrast, the excimer laser-irradiated tissue had narrow deep incisions with minimal or no thermal injury. These preliminary experiments indicate that the excimer laser vaporizes tissue in a manner different from that of the continuous wave Nd:YAG or argon ion laser. The sharp incision margins and minimal damage to adjacent normal tissue suggest that the excimer laser is more desirable for general surgical and intravascular uses than are the conventionally used medical lasers.

Pulsed ultraviolet lasers and the potential for safe laser angioplasty.

Endoscopic laser ablation of atheroma using continuous wave lasers is limited by imprecise control of thermal ablation, resulting in a crater that expands in width and depth, with thermal damage to adjacent normal tissue. We compared the gross and histologic effects of pulsed 308 mm excimer irradiation to continuous-wave Nd:YAG and Argon Ion laser irradiation, and pulsed 1,060 nm, 532 nm, 355 nm, and 266 nm laser irradiation in 205 atherosclerotic aortic segments. In contrast to the continuous-wave Nd: YAG, Argon Ion, and pulsed 1,060 nm, 532 nm, and 355 nm laser irradiation, which produced gross and histologic evidence of uncontrolled ablation, the 308 nm and 266 nm pulsed lasers induced incisions that conformed precisely to the beam configuration without gross evidence of thermal injury. The incision edges from these two lasers were histologically smooth and comparable to a scalpel incision. Our histologic findings suggest that rapid, precise endoscopic ablation of vascular and nonvascular tissue can be performed at these shorter pulsed wavelengths with very high precision with relatively little damage or risk to adjacent tissue.

Effect of hematoporphyrin derivative and photodynamic therapy on atherosclerotic rabbits

This study was performed to demonstrate selective uptake of hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) within actively developing atheroma, to localize the site of uptake of HPD within the atheroma, and to determine the potential for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of atherosclerosis in the rabbit model. Fifteen rabbits were rendered atherosclerotic. Five rabbits received neither HPD nor PDT and 2 rabbits received HPD, 10 mg/kg intravenously, without subsequent irradiation. Eight other rabbits received 5 to 20 mg of HPD intravenously and subsequent intravascular 636-nm laser radiation to either the thoracic aorta or the aortic arch. A total of 32 to 288 J of laser energy was delivered through a 300-mu quartz fiber. All rabbits that received in vivo HPD had red fluorescence of their aortas when placed under ultraviolet light. The pattern of fluorescence corresponded precisely to the pattern of atheroma. In segments that received PDT, light microscopic examination revealed an accumulation of smooth muscle cells at the intimal surface. Fluorescence microscopy revealed a diminishing concentration gradient of HPD from intimal surface layers towards the media. Assessment of treated thoracic aortic segments revealed quantitative and qualitative differences compared with control segments. In the arch-treated segments, however, no changes were seen. It is concluded that HPD localizes within rabbit atheroma, can be detected by fluorescence and is deposited in a diminishing concentration gradient from lumen toward media. Irradiation with 636-nm light may induce qualitative and quantitative changes in atheroma.

First results from a dual photoelastic-modulator-based polarimetric camera

We report on the construction and calibration of a dual photoelastic-modulator (PEM)-based polarimetric camera operating at 660?nm. This camera is our first prototype for a multispectral system being developed for airborne and spaceborne remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols. The camera includes a dual-PEM assembly integrated into a three-element, low-polarization reflective telescope and provides both intensity and polarization imaging. A miniaturized focal-plane assembly consisting of spectral filters and patterned wire-grid polarizers provides wavelength and polarimetric selection. A custom push-broom detector array with specialized signal acquisition, readout, and processing electronics captures the radiometric and polarimetric information. Focal-plane polarizers at orientations of 0 degrees and -45 degrees yield the normalized Stokes parameters q=Q/I and u=U/I respectively, which are then coregistered to obtain degree of linear polarization (DOLP) and angle of linear polarization. Laboratory test data, calibration results, and outdoor imagery acquired with the camera are presented. The results show that, over a wide range of DOLP, our challenging objective of uncertainty within +/-0.005 has been achieved.

OCO/GOSAT Preflight Cross-Calibration Experiment

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) by JAXA were built to provide independent measures of the global distributions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from space. GOSAT achieved a successful orbit on January 23, 2009, and OCO failed its launch attempt on February 24, 2009. Both sensors detect absorptions at the 0.76-¿m oxygen band and at the weak and strong CO2 bands at 1.6 and 2.0 ¿m, respectively. In order to establish the uncertainties and biases between the respective data products, the OCO and GOSAT teams have planned a number of cross-comparison studies. The first of these, discussed here, is the validation of the prelaunch absolute radiometric calibrations, specified at ±5%. The cross-comparison campaign to validate this OCO approach was performed at NASAs JPL in April 2008. In this paper, the OCO reference detectors and three GOSAT radiometers viewed the OCO sphere and radiometric standard. The overall agreements between the OCO calibration and GOSAT measurement of the OCO integrating sphere were 1.5% at 0.76 ¿m, 2.7% ± 1.1% at 1.6 ¿m, and 0.2% ± 4.1% at 2.0 ¿m. To validate the GOSAT preflight calibration, the cross-calibration experiment continued at JAXAs Tsukuba Space Center in December 2008, where the same radiometers measured the two GOSAT spheres. Agreements are better than 1.8% at 0.76 ¿m, 1.6% at 1.6 ¿m, and 1.4% at 2 ¿m. These studies give confirmation that the flight instruments have been calibrated to within their uncertainty requirements.

Preflight Spectral Calibration of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory

We report on the preflight spectral calibration of the first Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) instrument. In particular, the instrument line shape (ILS) function as well as spectral position was determined experimentally for all OCO channels. Initial determination of these characteristics was conducted through laser-based spectroscopic measurements. The resulting spectral calibration was validated by comparing solar spectra recorded simultaneously by the OCO flight instrument and a collocated high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS). The spectral calibration was refined by optimizing parameters of the ILS as well as the dispersion relationship, which determines spectral position, to yield the best agreement between these two measurements. The resulting ILS profiles showed agreement between the spectra recorded by the spectrometers and FTS to approximately 0.2% rms, satisfying the preflight spectral calibration accuracy requirement of better than 0.25% rms.

The Geostationary Fourier Transform Spectrometer

The Geostationary Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GeoFTS) is an imaging spectrometer designed for an earth science mission to measure key atmospheric trace gases and process tracers related to climate change and human activity. The GeoFTS instrument is a half meter cube size instrument designed to operate in geostationary orbit as a secondary “hosted” payload on a commercial geostationary satellite mission. The advantage of GEO is the ability to continuously stare at a region of the earth, enabling frequent sampling to capture the diurnal variability of biogenic fluxes and anthropogenic emissions from city to continental scales. The science goal is to obtain a process-based understanding of the carbon cycle from simultaneous high spatial resolution measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) many times per day in the near infrared spectral region to capture their spatial and temporal variations on diurnal, synoptic, seasonal and interannual time scales. The GeoFTS instrument is based on a Michelson interferometer design with a number of advanced features incorporated. Two of the most important advanced features are the focal plane arrays and the optical path difference mechanism. A breadboard GeoFTS instrument has demonstrated functionality for simultaneous measurements in the visible and IR in the laboratory and subsequently in the field at the California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CLARS) observatory on Mt. Wilson overlooking the Los Angeles basin. A GeoFTS engineering model instrument is being developed which will make simultaneous visible and IR measurements under space flight like environmental conditions (thermal-vacuum at 180 K). This will demonstrate critical instrument capabilities such as optical alignment stability, interferometer modulation efficiency, and high throughput FPA signal processing. This will reduce flight instrument development risk and show that the GeoFTS design is mature and flight ready.

An FPGA-based Focal Plane Array interface for the Panchromatic Fourier Transform Spectrometer

Panchromatic Fourier Transform Spectrometer (PanFTS) is an Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) funded development to build and demonstrate a single instrument capable of meeting or exceeding the requirements of the Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) mission. The PanFTS design provides atmospheric measurement capabilities in the IR and UV-Vis by using imaging FTS to provide full spatial coverage. For the atmospheric composition, the instrument includes up to four Focal Plane Arrays (FPA) of 256×256 pixels that are read at a frame rate of 8 kHz. We have developed an interface that records pixel data from commercially available IR FPAs that are capable of the required frame rate at a lower spatial coverage, and of the required spatial coverage at a lower frame rate. This interface uses high speed ADCs from Analog Devices and the Xilinx Virtex-5FXT FPGA (V5FXT). The IR signal chain electronics and the demonstration of the FPA data capture are highlighted in this paper. Achieving the full spatial coverage will require FPAs with in-pixel ADCs using delta-sigma conversion. JPL has developed a read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) utilizing this technique and has bump-bonded it to the detector portion of an FPA. The data acquisition and processing system for handling delta-sigma conversion from this new imager is the current work of the PanFTS IIP.

Preflight Spectral Calibration of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2

This paper describes the preflight spectral calibration methods and results for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2), following the approach developed for the first OCO. The instrument line shape (ILS) function and dispersion parameters were determined through laser-based spectroscopic measurements, and then further optimized by comparing solar spectra recorded simultaneously on the ground by the OCO-2 flight instrument and a collocated high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS). The resulting ILS profiles and dispersion parameters, when applied to the FTS solar data, showed agreement between the spectra recorded by the spectrometers and FTS to approximately 0.2% RMS, satisfying the preflight spectral calibration accuracy requirement of <0.25% RMS. Specific changes to the OCO-2 instrument and calibration process, compared to the original OCO, include stray-light protection; improved laser setup; increased spectral sampling; enhanced data screening, and incremental improvements in the ILS, dispersion, and FTS optimization analyses.