A FAR INFRARED HETERODYNE RECEIVER FOR SATELLITE BASED LIMB SOUNDING OF OH AT 2.5 THZ
- Paper ID
94-iaf-088
- author
- company
MAN Technologie AG
- country
Germany
- year
1994
- abstract
Stratospheric OH plays a key role in monitoring the chemical processes involved in the destruction of ozone. Unlike most other trace gases OH can only be monitored at high frequencies near 1.8, 2.5 and 3.5 THz. However the emission from a limb path through the lower stratosphere requires the sensitivity and spectral resolution of a heterodyne receiver. We developed a heterodyne receiver that applies a Schottky diode as the detector/mixer element and an ultra stable optically pumped far infrared laser as the local oscillator. Stratospheric OH was recently observed from an airplane using a prototype of such an instrument developed and build by MAN. Global long term monitoring must certainly be done from a satellite platform. The instrument presented here may be easily space qualified for this purpose..