Realization of the National Institute of Standards and Technology detector-based spectral irradiance scale.

A detector-based spectral irradiance scale has been realized at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Unlike the previous NIST spectral irradiance scales, the new scale is generated with filter radiometers calibrated for absolute spectral power responsivity traceable to the NIST high-accuracy cryogenic radiometer instead of with the gold freezing-point blackbody. The calibrated filter radiometers are then used to establish the radiance temperature of a high-temperature blackbody (HTBB) operating near 3,000 K The spectral irradiance of the HTBB is then determined with knowledge of the geometric factors and is used to assign the spectral irradiances of a group of 1,000-W free-electron laser lamps. The detector-based spectral irradiance scale results in the reduction of the uncertainties from the previous source-based spectral irradiance scale by at least a factor of 2 in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions. The new detector-based spectral irradiance scale also leads to a reduction in the uncertainties in the shortwave infrared wavelength region by at least a factor of 2-10, depending on the wavelength. Following the establishment of the spectral irradiance scale in the early 1960s, the detector-based spectral irradiance scale represents a fundamental change in the way that the NIST spectral irradiance scale is realized.

A Wavelength Standard for the Near Infrared Based on the Reflectance Of Rare-Earth Oxides.

This work describes the techniques used to prepare and analyze a reflectance wavelength standard composed of three rare-earth oxides. A mixture of dysprosium oxide (Dy2O3), erbium oxide (Er2O3), and holmium oxide (Ho2O3) provides a pressed powder specimen exhibiting a near infrared reflectance spectrum characterized by many discrete absorption minima in the wavelength range 700 to 2000 nm. The object of this activity was to develop a wavelength standard for improving the accuracy of reflectance measurements in the near infrared. The reflectance minima of the rare-earth oxide mixture was analyzed for the effects of varying spectral resolution and temperature. The uncertainties associated with the various parameters affecting the measurements and the determination of the location of the reflectance minima have been analyzed. The overall uncertainty in the location of these reflectance minima is believed not to exceed ± 1 nm.