An efficient stable optical polariser module for calibration of the S4UVN earth observation satellite

Stephen Rolt; Ariadna Calcines; Bartosz Lomanowski; David Bramall; Benjamin Shaw

doi:10.1117/12.2232358

22 July 2016 An efficient stable optical polariser module for calibration of the S4UVN earth observation satellite

Stephen Rolt, Ariadna Calcines, Bartosz Lomanowski, David Bramall, Benjamin Shaw

Proceedings Volume 9912, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation II; 99126V (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232358
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

We describe here an optical polariser module intended to deliver well characterised polarised light to an imaging spectrometer instrument. The instrument in question is the Sentinel-4/UVN Earth observation imaging spectrometer due to be deployed in 2019 in a geostationary orbit. The polariser module described here will be used in the ground based calibration campaign for this instrument. One critical task of the calibration campaign will be the highly accurate characterisation of the polarisation sensitivity of instrument. The polariser module provides a constant, uniform source of linearly polarised light whose direction can be adjusted without changing the output level or uniformity of the illumination.

A critical requirement of the polariser module is that the illumination is uniform across the exit pupil. Unfortunately, a conventional Glan-Taylor arrangement cannot provide this uniformity due to the strong variation in transmission at a refractive surface for angles close to the critical angle. Therefore a modified prism arrangement is proposed and this is described in detail. Detailed tolerance modelling and straylight modelling is also reported here.

Citation Download Citation

Stephen Rolt, Ariadna Calcines, Bartosz Lomanowski, David Bramall, and Benjamin Shaw "An efficient stable optical polariser module for calibration of the S4UVN earth observation satellite", Proc. SPIE 9912, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation II, 99126V (22 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232358

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