FY2008 Calibration Systems Final Report

The Calibrations project has been exploring alternative technologies for calibration of passive sensors in the infrared (IR) spectral region. In particular, we have investigated using quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) because these devices offer several advantages over conventional blackbodies such as reductions in size and weight while providing a spectral source in the IR with high output power. These devices can provide a rapid, multi-level radiance scheme to fit any nonlinear behavior as well as a spectral calibration that includes the fore-optics, which is currently not available for on-board calibration systems