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Remote Sensing

SI Traceable Solar Spectral Irradiance Measurement Based on a Quantum Benchmark: A Prototype Design

Xiaobing Zheng, Maopeng Xia, Wenchao Zhai, Youbo Hu, Jianjun Li, Yinlin Yuan, Weiwei Pang Weiwei Pang

Published May 4, 2020• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a space benchmark sensor with onboard SI (Système International) traceability by means of quantum optical radiometry. Correlated photon pairs generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in nonlinear crystals are used to calibrate the absolute responsivity of a solar observing radiometer. The calibration is systematic, insensitive to degradation and independent of external radiometric standards. Solar spectral irradiance at 380–2500 nm is traceable to the photon rate and Planck’s constant with an expected uncertainty of about 0.35%. The principle of SPDC calibration and a prototype design of the solar radiometer are introduced. The uncertainty budget is analyzed in consideration of errors arising from calibration and observation modes.

DOI
10.3390/rs12091454

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We propose a space benchmark sensor with onboard SI (Système International) traceability by means of quantum optical radiometry. Correlated photon pairs generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in nonlinear crystals are used to calibrate the absolute responsivity of a solar observing radiometer. The calibration is systematic, insensitive to degradation and independent of external radiometric standards. Solar spectral irradiance at 380–2500 nm is traceable to the photon rate and Planck’s constant with an expected uncertainty of about 0.35%. The principle of SPDC calibration and a prototype design of the solar radiometer are introduced. The uncertainty budget is analyzed in consideration of errors arising from calibration and observation modes.
There are two general methods for radiometric calibration of detectors. One is based on radiometric sources and the other is based on detectors. Because two methods need to establish primary standard of high precision and transfer chain of standard, the precision of standard will be reduced by extension of the chain. An absolute calibration of quantum efficiency of detectors can be realized by using correlated photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) effect of nonlinear crystal. Generation mechanism of SPDC is interpreted with theories of quantum mechanics and classical theories. The theory of calibration based correlated photons are demonstrated. The project for proof of principle of absolute calibration of quantum efficiency of radiometric detectors is given in this paper. Comparing with traditional methods, the advantages of it are pointed out. A scheme using to calibrate quantum efficiency of infrared detectors is described here. The measurement of spatial and spectral response of detectors is mentioned too.
There are two general methods in radiometric calibration of detectors, one is based on radiation sources and the other based on detectors. Because the two methods need to establish a primary standard of high precision and a transfer chain, precision of the standard will be reduced by extension of the chain. A new calibration method of detectors can be realized by using correlated photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) effect of nonlinear crystal, without needing transfer chain. Using 351.1-nm output of a tunable laser to pump 'beta'-barium borate (BBO) crystal, an absolute calibration experimental system of single photon detectors based on correlated photons is performed. The quantum efficiency of photomultiplier (PMT) at 702.2 nm is measured by the setup. Advantages of this method over traditional methods are also pointed out by comparison.
The black body remains the most prominent source of light for absolute radiometry. Its main alternative, synchrotron radiation, requires costly and large facilities. Quantum optics offers a new radiometric source: parametric down-conversion (PDC), a nonlinear optical process, in which pairwise photon correlations enable absolute calibration of photodetectors. Since the emission rate crucially depends on the brightness of the electromagnetic field, quantum-mechanical fluctuations of the vacuum7 can be seen as a seed of spontaneous PDC, and their amplitude is a natural radiometric standard. Thus, they allow for the calibration of the spectral radiance of light sources by measuring the ratio between seeded and unseeded PDC. Here, we directly use the frequency spectrum of the electromagnetic vacuum to trigger spontaneous PDC and employ the generated light to infer the spectral response of a spectrometer over a broad spectral range. Then, we deduce the absolute quantum efficiency from the spectral shape of PDC in the high-gain regime, without relying on a seed or reference detector. Our results compare well with the ones obtained with a reference lamp, demonstrating a promising primary radiation standard.
The calibration of radiometric sensors is critical to ensure the accuracy of the remote sensing data and their usability.The current methods of the radiometric calibration are based on the establishment of high-precision primary standard and standard transfer chain,and the transfer chain is the main source of errors.The entangled photons-based theory creates a new technical way to realize the radiometric calibration of standardless transfer.The method of absolute calibration of photodetectors based on a nonclassical effect of the nonlinear optics in the photon-counting regime was discussed.The measurement was realized with the technique of entangled photons at 702 nm generated by a parametric down conversion process in a nonlinear crystal of BBO.The photomultiplier quantum-efficiency at the wavelength was measured during the experiment.It is estimated that the deviation is 0.1%.The technique is independent of any externally calibrated radiometric standards.
A system for calibrating single photon detector efficiency that is traceable to the SI through a state-of-the-art classical optical fibre radiometer has been developed and is in the process of being vetted as a calibration service at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The method of calibration is direct substitution to power meters relative to NIST's optical fibre cryogenic primary standard and builds on the existing measurement infrastructure for the calibration of optical fibre power meters. Recent improvements to the optical fibre cryogenic radiometer make it more robust and deployable. The traceability of the single photon detector calibration service under development to these classical measurements is discussed, along with a description of the technique used in this calibration service to calibrate the detection efficiency of single photon detectors. Finally, we discuss work on the development of these technologies so that in the future they may be deployable to the point-of- use.
The optical radiometric calibration method based on correlated photons generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) is a promising method,because it is based on the basic physical phenomena and does not need radiometric traceability.At the present,the SPDC calibration technology is applicable for the photon-counting detector with a highest calibration accuracy of 0.18%.More and more researchers are making effort to improve its calibration accuracy and expand its applicable targets to analog detectors.Correlated photon circles have the high photon rate characteristic.The photon rates of signal and idle light can be improved significantly by using correlated photon circles in calibration.It has very important significance to study the time-correlation characteristic of correlated photon circles. In this paper,the spatial distribution of emission angle of the broadband (450-1000 nm) correlated photons generated by type-I spontaneous parametric down-conversion is presented through the theoretical calculations.The ZEMAX optical software is used to design the optical system which can receive the broadband correlated photon circles and remove the pump laser which is the main source of stray light.The 355 nm wavelength laser is used to pump -barium borate (BBO) crystal to generate the broadband correlated photon circles.A low-light-level CMOS camera is used to adjust and align the opt-mechanical system.Finally,the 430 nm-860 nm correlated photon circles are received by the optical system and detected by the low-light-level CMOS camera.An experimental measurement system is established to measure the time-correlation characteristics of 685 nm and 736.89 nm correlated photon circles.Using 1.0 mW continuous-wave laser to pump BBO crystal,a coincidence peak is observed evidently.The results show that the correlated photon circles generated by type-I SPDC have the characteristics of time-correlation and high photon rates.It can be conductive to improving optical radiometric calibration accuracy based on correlated photons and promoting the development and application in analog detector calibration.