Xiujian Li

Autonomous on-orbit calibration of a star tracker camera

We have developed a calibration approach for a star tracker camera. A modified version of the least-squares iteration algorithm com- bining Kalman filter is put forward, which allows for autonomous on-orbit calibration of the star tracker camera even with nonlinear camera distor- tions. In the calibration approach, the optimal principal point and focal length are achieved at first via the modified algorithm, and then the high- order focal-plane distortions are estimated using the solution of the first step. To validate this proposed calibration approach, the real star catalog and synthetic attitude data are adopted to test its performance. The test results have demonstrated the proposed approach performs well in terms of accuracy, robustness, and performance. It can satisfy the autonomous on-orbit calibration of the star tracker camera. C 2011 Society of Photo-Optical

Novel approach for laboratory calibration of star tracker

An autonomous star tracker is an opto-electronic instrument used to provide the absolute three-axis attitude of a spacecraft utilizing star observations. The precise calibration of the measurement model is crucial, as the performance of the star tracker is highly dependent on the star camera parameters. We focus on proposing a simple and available calibration approach for a star tracker with wide field of view. The star tracker measurement model is described, and a novel approach for laboratory calibration is put forward. This approach is based on a collimator, a two-dimensional adjustable plane mirror, and other ordinary instruments. The calibration procedure consists of two steps: (1) the principal point is estimated using autocollimation adjustment; and (2) the other camera parameters, mainly the principal distance and distortions, are estimated via least-squares iteration, taking into account the extrinsic parameters. To validate this proposed calibration method, simulations with synthetic data are used to quantify its performance considering the errors of the distortion model and calibration data. The theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the uncertainties of the measured star direction vectors are less than 4.0×10−5 rad after calibration, and this can be further improved.

Star spot location estimation using Kalman filter for star tracker.

Star pattern recognition and attitude determination accuracy is highly dependent on star spot location accuracy for the star tracker. A star spot location estimation approach with the Kalman filter for a star tracker has been proposed, which consists of three steps. In the proposed approach, the approximate locations of the star spots in successive frames are predicted first; then the measurement star spot locations are achieved by defining a series of small windows around each predictive star spot location. Finally, the star spot locations are updated by the designed Kalman filter. To confirm the proposed star spot location estimation approach, the simulations based on the orbit data of the CHAMP satellite and the real guide star catalog are performed. The simulation results indicate that the proposed approach can filter out noises from the measurements remarkably if the sampling frequency is sufficient.

Angular velocity estimation from measurement vectors of star tracker

In most spacecraft, there is a need to know the crafts angular rate. Approaches with least squares and an adaptive Kalman filter are proposed for estimating the angular rate directly from the star tracker measurements. In these approaches, only knowledge of the vector measurements and sampling interval is required. The designed adaptive Kalman filter can filter out noise without information of the dynamic model and inertia dyadic. To verify the proposed estimation approaches, simulations based on the orbit data of the challenging minisatellite payload (CHAMP) satellite and experimental tests with night-sky observation are performed. Both the simulations and experimental testing results have demonstrated that the proposed approach performs well in terms of accuracy, robustness, and performance.

Crosstalk analysis of aligned and misaligned free-space optical interconnect systems

We present an analysis of crosstalk in aligned and misaligned free-space optical interconnect (FSOI) systems. On the basis of a generalized diffraction integral formula, an analytical expression of irradiation distribution for FSOI systems and a convenient approach to calculate crosstalk noise signal ratios (CNSR) are proposed. Simulations are performed to analyze the factors affecting the CNSR. The analyses indicate that small beam quality factor and wide channel pitch will significantly improve performance of the FSOIs. Furthermore, the displacement of the transmitter microlens array will affect the interconnection distance much more significantly than that of the receiver microlens array.

Minimum variance unbiased subpixel centroid estimation of point image limited by photon shot noise

An unbiased subpixel centroid estimation algorithm of point image is proposed through the compensation of the systematic error of the center of mass method. The Cramér-Rao lower bound on centroid estimation variances is derived under the photon shot noise condition and is utilized to evaluate the proposed algorithm. Numerical analysis shows that the proposed centroid estimator attains the required lower bound; thus the proposed algorithm can be asserted as a minimum variance estimator. Simulation results indicate that the centroid accuracy is maximized when the Gaussian width of the signal spot is 0.2-0.3 pixel and the estimator can attain subpixel accuracy close to 1/100 pixel when 1000 photons are detected.

Phase-resolved observations of optical pulse propagation in chip-scale silicon nanowires

We report phase-resolved temporal measurements of picosecond pulse propagation in silicon chip-scale nanowire waveguides. The nonlinear ultrafast phenomena are examined experimentally with frequency-resolved optical gating and numerically with nonlinear Schrodinger pulse modeling. Pulse broadening and higher-order pulse splitting were observed experimentally and matched remarkably with numerical predictions. The contributions of self-phase modulation and group velocity dispersion, as well as two-photon absorption, free-carrier dispersion, and absorption, are described and discussed, in support of chip-scale nonlinear signal processing and ultrafast processes.

Generation of dark hollow femtosecond pulsed beam by phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator

Based on the refractive laser beam shaping system, the dark hollow femtosecond pulse beam shaping technique with a phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) is demonstrated. The phase distribution of the LC-SLM is derived by the energy conservation and constant optical path principle. The effects of the shaping system on the temporal properties, including spectral phase distribution and bandwidth of the femtosecond pulse, are analyzed in detail. Experimental results show that the hollow intensity distribution of the output pulsed beam can be maintained much at more than 1200 mm. The spectral phase of the pulse is changed, and the pulse width is expanded from 199 to 230 fs, which is caused by the spatial-temporal coupling effect. The coupling effect mainly depends on the phase-only LC-SLM itself, not on its loaded phase distribution. The experimental results indicate that the proposed shaping setup can generate a dark hollow femtosecond pulsed beam effectively, because the temporal Gaussian waveform is unchanged.

Detection of TNT in acetone using Raman spectroscopic signature

The detection of explosive agents is becoming more important and receiving much greater emphasis for homeland defense. Raman spectroscopy is a well established tool for vibration spectroscopic analysis and can be applied to the field of explosives identification and detection. The major bands of the Raman spectroscopy of industrial TNT (Trinitrotoluene, CH3C6H2(NO2)3) are analyzed and seven prominent peaks, that is 1616.9cm-1 (C=C aromatic stretching vibration), 1533.9cm-1 (NO2 asymmetric stretching vibration), 1360.1cm-1 (NO2 symmetric stretching vibration ), 1210.5cm-1 (C6H2-C vibration), 822.9cm-1 (nitro-group scissoring mode), 792.3cm-1 (C-H out-of-plane bend), and 326.7cm-1 (framework distortion mode) are used to identify the TNT. The Raman spectroscopes of TNT solved in acetone at different mass ratios are studied, and the TNT in the solution can be detected correctly according the relative distance, intensity, and peak area of the seven peaks. The TNT prominent peaks appear clearly in high level solution (the mass ration of TNT and acetone is more than 1:10). With the decrease of TNT concentration in solution, the signature of TNT becomes more and more weak. The low detection limit of TNT is limited by the noise of the instrument (NXR FT-Raman accessory module with Nicolet 5700 FT-IR spectrometer is used for our experiments. The low detection limit in our experiments is mass ratio 1:200, which is about 4mg/mL). The prominent peak heights are discussed in consideration of the TNT concentration. Taking one of the acetones peaks (1716.9cm-1) as the internal standard line, the relative height of the prominent TNT peaks is almost proportional to the concentration of the TNT in the solution. A fitting curve for the relations of prominent peak height according to the concentration is proposed with multinomial fitting method, which can be used to analyze the concentration of TNT more accurately.

Generation and analysis of both in-phase and out-phase radially polarized femtosecond-pulse beam

Abstract. Both in-phase and out-phase radially polarized femtosecond-pulse (RPFP) beams have been generated with one phase-only liquid crystal spatial light modulator, which effectively modulates the phase retardation distributions of a pulse beam wavefront by two reflections. The intensity distributions and polarizing properties of both in-phase and out-phase RPFP beams are detected, and the temporal properties of in-phase RPFP beams are investigated in detail. Experimental results indicate that we effectively produce an RPFP beam. And the temporal duration of the output in-phase RPFP beam is 183 fs about 14 fs shorter than the input Gaussian femtosecond-pulse beam. The temporal durations of arbitrary polarized components of an in-phase RPFP beam vary less than 3.5%.