Meelis-Mait Sildoja

Use of the predictable quantum efficient detector with light sources of uncontrolled state of polarization

Analysis of the reflectance losses of the predictable quantum efficient detector (PQED) operated at room temperature is presented. An efficient method of using the ratio of photocurrents from the two photodiodes of the PQED is developed to determine the reflectance losses without direct measurement of the reflectance for an unknown state of polarization of the incident light. A detailed analysis is presented to estimate the associated reflectance losses for detectors with either seven or nine internal reflections. For the 7-reflection PQED, the relative standard uncertainty component of spectral responsivity due to reflectance loss correction can be reduced mostly below 100?ppm with the photocurrent ratio measurement whereas for the 9-reflection PQED the uncertainties remain below 20?ppm in the wavelength range from 400 to 900?nm with an uncontrolled polarization state of the incident light.

New source and detector technology for the realization of photometric units

The production of incandescent light bulbs is bound to end, as incandescent lighting is being phased out globally in favour of more energy-efficient and sustainable solutions. Temporally stable light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are potential candidates to replace incandescent lamps as photometric source standards. However, traditional V(λ) filter based photometers may have large uncertainty when LEDs are measured instead of incandescent lamps. This is due to the narrow and complicated spectra of LEDs. When the spectra of LEDs are limited to the visible wavelength range, new silicon detector technology can be advantageously exploited in photometry. We present a novel method—based on the recently introduced Predictable Quantum Efficient Detector (PQED)—for the realization of photometric units which completely eliminates the need to use V(λ) filters. Instead, the photometric weighting is taken into account numerically by measuring the relative spectral irradiance. The illuminance values of a blue and a red LED were determined using the new method and a conventional reference photometer. The values obtained by the two methods deviated from each other by −0.06% and 0.48% for the blue and red LED, respectively. The PQED-based values have much lower standard uncertainty (0.17% to 0.18%) than the uncertainty of the values based on the conventional photometer (0.46% to 0.51%).

Wavelength calibration of Brewer spectrophotometer using a tuneable pulsed laser and implications to the Brewer ozone retrieval

In this contribution we present the wavelength calibration of the travelling reference Brewer spectrometer of the Regional Brewer Calibration Center for Europe (RBCCE) at PTB in Braunschweig, Germany. The wavelength calibration is needed for the calculation of the ozone absorption coefficients used by the Brewer ozone algorithm. In order to validate the standard procedure for determining Brewer’s wavelength scale, a calibration has been performed by using a tunable laser source at PTB in the framework of the EMRP project ENV59 ATMOZ “Traceability for the total column ozone”. Here we compare these results to those of the standard procedure for the wavelength calibration of the Brewer instrument. Such a comparison allows validating the standard methodology used for measuring the ozone absorption coefficient with respect to several assumptions. The results of the laser-based calibrations reproduces those obtained by the standard operational methodology and shows that there is an underestimation of 0.8 % of the ozone absorption coefficients due to the use of the parametrized slit functions.

Out-of-Range Stray Light Characterization of Single-Monochromator Brewer Spectrophotometers

ABSTRACT Stray light in single-monochromator Brewer instruments increases the uncertainty of solar ultraviolet spectral irradiance measurements and ozone retrievals. To study how spectral irradiance within and outside the measurement ranges of the instruments affects stray light, two Brewer MKII instruments were characterized for the level of in- and out-of-range stray light at multiple laser wavelengths. In addition, several solar-blind filters utilized in single-monochromator Brewers to limit out-of-range stray light were characterized for spectral and spatial transmittances. Finally, the measurement results were used to simulate the effect of stray light and stray light correction on spectral irradiance and ozone measurements at different wavelength regions. The effect of stray light from wavelengths above 340 nm was found to be negligible compared with other sources of uncertainty. On the other hand, contributions from wavelengths between 325 and 340 nm can form a significant portion of the overall stray light of the instrument, with 325 nm being the upper limit of the nominal measurement range of the instrument.