CMOS System-on-Chip Based Radiometric and Spectroscopic Instruments for Space Exploration

In this webinar Adrian will introduce the important role that passive radiometry and spectroscopy plays in Earth science, planetary science and astronomy investigations at mm-wave and terahertz wavelengths that explore Earth, the solar system, and space. He will then review some of the fundamentals of radiometry including deep stability, Allen variance/time and spectroscopic versus radiometric sensitivity. The webinar will describe several recent results by instruments operating in these wavelength regimes and discuss the important role CMOS system-on-chip (SoC) technology now plays for LO generation, calibration, and signal processing, as well as the fundamental challenges (noise, extreme temperatures, and radiation effects) that CMOS based instruments face in delivering the high level of fidelity required for NASA’s science investigations. Several examples of CMOS SoC-based instruments from NASA programs including 600 GHz spectrometers being developed for investigations of Europa, Titan, Enceladus will be presented as well as a CMOS 180 GHz spectrometer instrument that recently flew aboard the NASA Reck-Tang LimbsoundEr-2 (ReckTangLE-2) mission, which performed H₂O soundings of Earth’s atmosphere to diagnose precipitation and climate change effects.