An extended area blackbody for radiometric calibration

SBIR is developing an enhanced blackbody for improved radiometric testing. The main feature of the blackbody is an improved coating with higher emissivity than the standard coating used. Comparative measurements of the standard and improved coatings are reported, including reflectance. The coatings were also tested with infrared imagers and a broadband emissivity estimate derived from the imagery data. In addition, a control algorithm for constant slew rate has been implemented, primarily for use in minimum resolvable temperature measurements. The system was tested over a range of slew rates from 0.05 K/min to 10 K/min and its performance reported