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Fundamental limits on the imaging and polarisation properties of far-infrared detectors
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Chuss, David T. Thomas, Christopher N. Withington, Stafford Wollack, Edward J. Moseley, S. Harvey |
| Copyright Year | 2009 |
| Description | Far-infrared bolometric detectors are used extensively in ground-based and space-borne astronomy, and thus it is important to understand their optical behaviour precisely. We have studied the intensity and polarisation response of free-space bolometers, and shown that when the size of the absorber is reduced below a wavelength, the response changes from being that of a classical optical detector to that of a few-mode antenna. We have calculated the modal content of the reception patterns, and found that for any volumetric detector having a side length of less than a wavelength, three magnetic and three electric dipoles characterize the behaviour. The size of the absorber merely determines the relative strengths of the contributions. The same formalism can be applied to thin-film absorbers, where the induced current is forced to flow in a plane. In this case, one magnetic and two electric dipoles characterize the behaviour. The ability to model easily the intensity, polarisation, and straylight characteristics of electrically-small detectors will be of great value when designing high-performance polarimetric imaging arrays. |
| File Size | 2628028 |
| Page Count | 27 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20090043011 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t9x113210 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2009-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Far Infrared Radiation Polarization Characteristics Imaging Techniques Bolometers Electric Dipoles Optical Equipment Polarimetry Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports ServerĀ (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |