AIRS instrument polarization response: measurement methodology

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Abstract
A novel measurement methodology for determining the polarization response of optical instruments is described. The methodology was developed for testing the polarization response of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), but has general applicability. The technique involves measuring the instrument's response to each of three distinct input polarization states, and computing from these signals a polarization transfer function using a special data processing algorithm. The equations that are the basis of the data processing algorithm are presented along with an outline of their derivation. The technique has been successfully used to test the polarization response of the AIRS IR Sensor Assembly as part of the Protoflight Model (PFM) Integration and Test program. The measured data shows excellent agreement with AIRS polarization response predictions, which were calculated using very complex numerical methods. A description of the test equipment are presented along with plots of the measured and predicted AIrS Spectrometer Polarization Ratio vs. wavelength.

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