L. Marcheses, P. Thomas, T.D. Pope, D. Asselin, H. Jerominek "A compact lightweight Earth horizon sensor using an uncooled infrared bolometer" Proc. of SPIE, 6796, art. no. 679629, 2007
Abstract: A compact, lightweight Earth horizon sensor has been designed based on uncooled infrared microbolometer array technology developed at INO. The design has been optimized for use on small satellites in Low Earth Orbits. The sensor may be used either as an attitude sensor or as an atmospheric limb detector. Various configurations may be implemented for both spinning and 3-axis stabilized satellites. The core of the sensor is the microbolometer focal plane array equipped with 256 × 1 VOx thermistor pixels with a pitch of 52 µm. The optics consists of a single Zinc Selenide lens with a focal length of 39.7 mm. The system's F-number is 3.8 and the detector limited Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference is estimated to be 0.75 K at 300 K for the 14-16 µm wavelength range. A single-sensor configuration will have a mass of less than 300g, a volume of 125 cm3 and a power consumption of 600 mW, making it well-suited for small satellite missions.
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