Monochromatic Measurements of the JPSS-1 VIIRS Polarization Sensitivity

Published

September 12, 2016

Author(s)

Steven W. Brown, Keith R. Lykke, Jeff McIntire, David Moyer, Eugene Waluschka, Hassan Oudrari, Xiaoxiong Xiong

Abstract

The polarization sensitivity is a critical parameter that must be characterized for spaceborne remote sensing instruments designed tomeasure reflected solar radiation such as the first Joint Polar-orbiting Satellite System (JPSS-1) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). Broadband testing showed unexpectedly large polarization sensitivities for the bluest bands on VIIRS (centered between 400 nm and 600 nm). Subsequent ray trace modeling indicated that large diattenuation on the edges of the bandpass for these spectral bands was the driver behind these large sensitivities. Additional testing using the NIST T-SIRCUS (Traveling Spectral Irradiance and Radiance Responsivity Calibrations Using Uniform Sources) was added to the test program to verify and enhance the model. The testing was limited in scope to two spectral bands at two scan angles; nonetheless, this additional testing provided valuable insight into the polarization sensitivity. Analysis has shown that the derived diattenuation agreed with the broadband measurements to within an absolute difference of about 0.4 % and the general features of the ray trace model were reproduced. Additionally, reformulation in terms of spectral responsivity has shown that the diattenuation is explicitly dependent on the changes in bandwidth with polarization angle.

Citation

Applied Optics

Volume

55

Issue

27

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Instrumentation, measurement, and metrology, Remote sensing and sensors, Polarimetry, Radiometry, Space instrumentation

Citation

Brown, S. , Lykke, K. , McIntire, J. , Moyer, D. , Waluschka, E. , Oudrari, H. and Xiong, X. (2016), Monochromatic Measurements of the JPSS-1 VIIRS Polarization Sensitivity, Applied Optics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=920811 (Accessed April 25, 2024)