Gregory S. Winters

Performance results from in-flight commissioning of the Juno Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Juno-UVS)

We present a description of the Juno ultraviolet spectrograph (Juno-UVS) and results from its in-flight commissioning performed between December 5th and 13th 2011 and its first periodic maintenance between October 10th and 12th 2012. Juno-UVS is a modest power (9.0 W) ultraviolet spectrograph based on the Alice instruments now in flight aboard the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, and the LAMP instrument aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. However, unlike the other Alice spectrographs, Juno-UVS sits aboard a spin stabilized spacecraft. The Juno-UVS scan mirror allows for pointing of the slit approximately ±30° from the spacecraft spin plane. This ability gives Juno-UVS access to half the sky at any given spacecraft orientation. The planned 2 rpm spin rate for the primary mission results in integration times per 0.2° spatial resolution element per spin of only ~17 ms. Thus, for calibration purposes, data were retrieved from many spins and then remapped and co-added to build up exposure times on bright stars to measure the effective area, spatial resolution, scan mirror pointing positions, etc. The primary job of Juno-UVS will be to characterize Jupiter’s UV auroral emissions and relate them to in-situ particle measurements. The ability to point the slit will make operations more flexible, allowing Juno-UVS to observe the atmospheric footprints of magnetic field lines through which Juno flies, giving a direct connection between energetic particle measurements on the spacecraft and the far-ultraviolet emissions produced by Jupiter’s atmosphere in response to those particles.

An improved wide-field camera for imaging Earth's plasmasphere at 30.4 nm

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (IMAGE/EUV) aboard NASAs IMAGE mission studied the distribution of singly ionized helium (He+) in the Earths plasmasphere by imaging its emission at 30.4 nm. This instrument consisted of three separate camera heads, each with a 28° field-of-view, with 0.6°resolution. We describe an improved imaging system that can simultaneously image a 40° field-of-view with 0.45° resolution utilizing only one compact camera head and detector. This improved imager also increases sensitivity over the heritage EUV imager by a factor of four due to improvements in optical coatings, detector technology, and a larger entrance aperture.

Radiometric performance results of the Juno ultraviolet spectrograph (Juno-UVS)

We describe the radiometric performance and ground calibration results of the Juno missions Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Juno-UVS) flight model. Juno-UVS is a modest power (9.0 W) ultraviolet spectrograph based on the Alice instruments now in flight aboard the European Space Agencys Rosetta spacecraft, NASAs New Horizons spacecraft, and the LAMP instrument aboard NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Its primary job will be to characterize Jupiters UV auroral emissions and relate them to in situ particle measurements.

The Southwest Research Institute Ultraviolet Reflectance Chamber (SwURC), a far ultraviolet reflectometer

We designed and assembled a highly capable UV reflectometer chamber and data acquisition system to provide bidirectional scattering data of various surfaces and materials. This chamber was initially conceived to create laboratory-based UV reflectance measurements of water frost on lunar soil/regolith simulants, to support interpretation of UV reflectance data from the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (“LAMP”) instrument on-board the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. A deuterium lamp illuminates surfaces and materials at a fixed 45° incident beam angle over the 115 to 200 nm range via a monochromator, while a photomultiplier tube detector is scanned to cover emission angles -85° to +85° (with a gap from -60° to -30°, due to the detector blocking the incident beam). Liquid nitrogen cools the material/sample mount when desired. The chamber can be configured to test a wide range of samples and materials using sample trays and holders. Test surfaces to date include aluminum mirrors, water ice, reflectance standards, and frozen mixtures of water and lunar soil/regolith stimulant. Future UV measurements planned include Apollo lunar samples, meteorite samples, other ices, minerals, and optical surfaces. Since this chamber may well be able to provide useful research data for groups outside Southwest Research Institute, we plan to take requests from and collaborate with others in the UV and surface reflection research community.

Radiometric calibration of the SWRI ultraviolet reflectance chamber (SwURC) far-ultraviolet reflectometer

The Southwest Research Institute Ultraviolet Reflectance Chamber (SwURC) is a highly capable UV reflectometer chamber and data acquisition system designed to provide bidirectional scattering data of various surfaces and materials. The chamber provides laboratory-based UV reflectance measurements of water frost/ice, lunar soils, simulants, and analogs to support interpretation of UV reflectance data from the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). A deuterium lamp illuminates a monochromator with a nominal wavelength range of 115 nm to 210 nm. The detector scans emission angles -85° to +85°in the principal plane. Liquid nitrogen passed through the sample mount enables constant refrigeration of tray temperatures down to 78 K to form water ice and other volatile samples. The SwURC can be configured to examine a wide range of samples and materials through the use of custom removable sample trays, connectors, and holders. Calibration reference standard measurements reported here include Al/MgF2 coated mirrors for specular reflection and Fluorilon for diffuse reflectances. This calibration work is a precursor to reports of experiments measuring the far-UV reflectance of water frost, lunar simulants, and Apollo soil sample 10084 in support of LRO-LAMP.

Stabilized dispersive focal plane systems for space

As the costs of space missions continue to rise, the demand for compact, low mass, low-cost technologies that maintain high reliability and facilitate high performance is increasing. One such technology is the stabilized dispersive focal plane system (SDFPS). This technology provides image stabilization while simultaneously delivering spectroscopic or direct imaging functionality using only a single optical path and detector. Typical systems require multiple expensive optical trains and/or detectors, sometimes at the expense of photon throughput. The SDFPS is ideal for performing wide-field low-resolution space-based spectroscopic and direct-imaging surveys. In preparation for a suborbital flight, we have built and ground tested a prototype SDFPS that will concurrently eliminate unwanted image blurring due to the lack of adequate platform stability, while producing images in both spectroscopic and direct-imaging modes. We present the overall design, testing results, and potential scientific applications.

Enhancing the far-ultraviolet sensitivity of silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor imaging arrays

Abstract. We report our progress toward optimizing backside-illuminated silicon P-type intrinsic N-type complementary metal oxide semiconductor devices developed by Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS) for far-ultraviolet (UV) planetary science applications. This project was motivated by initial measurements at Southwest Research Institute of the far-UV responsivity of backside-illuminated silicon PIN photodiode test structures, which revealed a promising QE in the 100 to 200 nm range. Our effort to advance the capabilities of thinned silicon wafers capitalizes on recent innovations in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) doping processes. Key achievements to date include the following: (1) representative silicon test wafers were fabricated by TIS, and set up for MBE processing at MIT Lincoln Laboratory; (2) preliminary far-UV detector QE simulation runs were completed to aid MBE layer design; (3) detector fabrication was completed through the pre-MBE step; and (4) initial testing of the MBE doping process was performed on monitoring wafers, with detailed quality assessments.

Development of rotating prism mechanism and athermalized prism mounting for space

Space and launch environments demand robust, low mass, and thermally insensitive mechanisms and optical mount designs. The rotating prism mechanism (RPM), a component of the stabilized dispersive focal plane system (SDFPS), is a spectral disperser mechanism that enables the SDFPS to deliver spectroscopic or direct imaging functionality using only a single optical path. The RPM is a redundant, vacuum-compatible, self-indexing, motorized mechanism that provides robust, athermalized prism mounting for two sets of matching prisms. Each set is composed of a BK7 and a CaF2 prism, both 70 mm in diameter. With the prism sets separated by 1 mm, the RPM rotates the two sets relative to one another over a 180° range, and maintains their alignment over a wide temperature range (190-308K). The RPM design incorporates self-indexing and backlash prevention features as well as redundant motors, bearings, and drive trains. The RPM was functionally tested in a thermal vacuum chamber at 210K and <1.0x10-6 mbar, and employed in the top-level SDFPS system testing. This paper presents the mechanical design, analysis, alignment measurements, and test results from the prototype RPM development effort.

Far ultraviolet sensitivity of silicon CMOS sensors

We describe vacuum ultraviolet sensitivity measurements of a new high performance silicon-based CMOS sensor from Teledyne Imaging Sensors. These sensors do not require the high voltages of MCP detectors, making them a lower mass and power alternative to the more mature MCP technology. These devices demonstrate up to 40 percent quantum efficiency at vacuum ultraviolet wavelengths, either meeting or greatly exceeding 10 percent quantum efficiency across the entire 100-200 nm wavelength region. As with similar visible sensitive devices, backside illumination results in a higher quantum efficiency than frontside illumination. Measurements of the vacuum ultraviolet sensitivity of the Teledyne silicon PIN detectors were made by directing a known intensity of ultraviolet light at discrete wavelengths onto the test detectors and reading out the resulting photocurrent. The sensitivity of the detector at a given wavelength was then calculated from the intensity and wavelength of the incoming light and the relative photodiode to NIST-traceable calibration diode active areas. A custom electromechanical interface was developed to make these measurements within the SwRI Vacuum Radiometric Calibration Chamber. While still in the single pixel stage, full 1K × 1K focal plane arrays are possible using existing CMOS readout electronics and hold great promise for inclusion in future spaceflight instrument concepts.