The goal of this Phase I effort is to find a practical optical and physical instrumentation geometry that will result in a miniature infrared transmissometer (MIT) capable of estimating in- situ and in real time the atmospheric extinction coefficient for aerosols with particles ranging in size from a fraction of a micron to tens of microns. The approach of this research is to investigate the wavelength scaling between light scattered by the particles in the visible spectrum and the aerosol infrared extinction coefficient in the two atmospheric windows as a function of potential MIT geometries. Such scaling was previously described in the literature, but has not yielded a practical and miniature atmospheric sensor for estimating infrared extinction. Innovative solutions for known problems with the wavelength- scaling method will be sought to make the MIT a practical wavelength-scaling instrument.
Benefits: There presently exists no practical method for real-time and in-situ measurements infrared aerosol transmission (extinction). An atmosheric sensor such as the MIT would benefit the operation of infrard optical systems.
Keywords: infrared extinction coefficient, aerosol extinction coefficient, aerosol, particulates, atmospheric sensor, transmissometer, infrared sensor
