Recent efforts in Earth remote sensing have focused on accurately measuring top-of-atmosphere and surface leaving radiances. One factor that must be accounted for in the radiometric calibration of an Earth remote sensing satellite is the polarization of the radiance. This dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of how polarization has an impact on the radiometric calibration of visible through long wave infrared Earth remote sensing satellites (0.4 through ∼15 μm). The first part of this dissertation concentrates on reviewing the current status of calibration and of polarization measurements in Earth remote sensing. It provides a comprehensive review of polarization in Earth scenes, calibration targets, and the sensitivity of instruments. The second part examines how polarization affects calibration during the application of the calibration coefficients. One must account for the differences in polarization between the calibration target, used to determine the calibration coefficients, and the scene itself. This dissertation derives the impact of polarization on the radiometric calibration coefficients using both the Stokes vector and the Jones vector formalisms and accounts for the instrument polarization sensitivity, calibration target polarization, and scene polarization through normalization. Using these derived results, the impacts of polarization on radiometric uncertainty are calculated for the family of theoretical cases and for cases based on literature data. The third part of this dissertation examines how the polarization response of an instrument can affect the calibration by creating a variation in the response vs. scan angle (RVS). It derives the mathematical relationship between the polarization response of an instrument and its response vs. scan angle. It examines the correlation between the two using MODIS pre-launch system level polarization and RVS measurement data and derives the sensitivity of the RVS to aft optics polarization. This establishes when scan mirror data is sufficient to characterize RVS and when a system level measurement is required. This dissertation then examines potential ways to determine the instrument's polarization response and response vs. scan angle post-launch. Finally, this dissertation identifies sensitivity thresholds in both cases and summarizes when polarization should be accounted for in radiometric calibration. Potential areas for future advancement of the field are discussed.

The recent discovery of photorefractive polymer composites with near 100% four-wave-mixing diffraction efficiency and high net optical gain by the author and coworkers at the University of Arizona has forwarded the advances of using organic materials to fabricate nonlinear optical devices. Nonlinear optical chromophores provide the optical properties for these new materials. Since there are thousands of molecules that are potential candidates to yield high performance nonlinear optical materials, a technique to quickly characterize the optical properties of these molecules is clearly needed. We have developed a frequency-dependent ellipsometric technique that simultaneously determines the first-order (anisotropic polarizability), second-order (first-hyperpolarizability), and third-order (second-hyperpolarizability) optical molecular coefficients of the chromophore. In this dissertation we will discuss the physics of these high performance nonlinear optical organic materials, and the characterization of their unique properties, leading to the development of our frequency-dependent ellipsometric technique. The technique itself will be discussed in detail, with an analysis of the molecules that are best suited for this type of measurement scheme, and a discussion of the limitations of this technique. Experimental data will be presented for a typical high performance nonlinear optical chromophore 4-(4'-nitrophenylazo)-1,3-di((3''- or 4''-vinyl)benzyloxy)benzene (NPADVBB).

A new spherical-shell radiative transfer model has been developed, with particular emphasis on the accurate calculation of the scattered radiance in the limb of the atmosphere. The model accounts for the spherical geometry of the atmosphere for all orders of scattering, but neglects the influence of polarization and refraction. Solutions are obtained by the successive orders of scattering method for several solar zenith angles simultaneously, using the inherent symmetry of the radiation field about the sub-solar point. The model is described by comparing and contrasting it with the model previously presented by Thome (1990) and Herman et al. (1994). The new model is tested against independent calculations to demonstrate the accuracy of the method. Its results are compared with the Monte Carlo calculations presented by Adams and Kattawar (1978) and Kattawar and Adams (1978) for a homogeneous atmosphere. Agreement is observed to within the stated statistical error of the Adams and Kattawar (1978) and Kattawar and Adams (1978) results for all lines of sight, including those in the limb. Comparisons are also made to the results obtained by the Herman et al. (1994) code for a more realistic atmospheric profile. These comparisons reveal excellent agreement outside the limb of the atmosphere, but some significant disagreement in the limb, which must be investigated further. Finally, preliminary results are presented that demonstrate the sensitivity of limb scattered radiances to changes in the ozone profile. Limb radiances are shown to be sensitive to a relatively small change in the ozone abundance in a thin layer of the atmosphere. However, the observed sensitivity is shown to decrease when aerosol scattering is added to the model atmosphere.

The interaction between Bose Einstein condensates (BECs) and coherent light fields is treated within the framework of nonlinear wave mixing and studied using techniques developed in the fields of nonlinear and quantum optics. We focus in particular on two situations involving a BEC driven by a strong off-resonant 'pump' laser. First, we consider the case where the laser light is scattered into a single mode of an optical ring cavity. We then consider the case where the light is scattered into the continuum of vacuum modes of the electric field. The first problem is an extension of recent theoretical and experimental work on the so-called collective atomic recoil laser (CARL), whereas the second corresponds to a recent condensate-superradiance experiment performed at MIT. In the cavity situation, we develop a CARL model in which both the atomic and optical fields are treated fully quantum mechanically. We first show that the previous CARL model, which treats the atomic motion classically, breaks down at the recoil temperature due to the effects of matter-wave diffraction. We then show that when combined with a BEC the CARL can be viewed as a device which parametrically amplifies atomic and optical fields. The existence of entanglement and non-classical intensity correlations between the amplified atomic and optical fields is demonstrated, as well as the ability to manipulate the quantum statistical properties of the matter and light waves by injecting a weak laser field into the optical cavity to trigger the device. By replacing the cavity mode with a continuum of modes, we are able to formulate a quantum theory of condensate superradiance in which the scattered light field is eliminated in the Markov approximation. This model shows that condensate depletion leads to mode competition which prevents light scattering in all but the preferred direction(s). The outcome of the mode-competition is highly sensitive to the quantum fluctuations which trigger the phenomenon, resulting in large run-to-run variations in the angular pattern of the superradiant light pulse, an effect which is observed experimentally.

In this work the interactions of carriers, electrons and holes, and photons in a semiconductor microcavity are studied in the perturbative and the nonperturbative regimes. In the perturbative regime, modification of the spontaneous emission rate of carriers by a semiconductor microcavity is investigated with 100-nm-thick bulk GaAs. Reabsorption makes the cavity-mode photoluminescence (PL) decay much faster than the square of the carrier density. Here reabsorption distortion is avoided by collecting PL that escapes the microcavity directly without multiple reflections using a ZnSe prism glued to the top mirror. Removal of most of the bottom mirror decreases the true carrier decay rate by only ≈25%, showing that the large enhancements deduced from cavity-mode PL are incorrect. A fully quantum mechanical computation including guided modes corroborates this conclusion. The prism technique could be used to study carrier dynamics and competition between guided and cavity modes in microcavities below and near threshold. In the nonperturbative regime, normal mode coupling (NMC) between the quantum-well excitonic susceptibility and photons is studied. In cw linear experiments, the effects of varying cavity finesse and exciton absorption linewidth and line shape and their contributions to the linewidth of NMC peaks are investigated and compared with the experiments. It is shown that all of the observed experimental features can be explained by a linear dispersion theory model that incorporates the experimental excitonic absorption spectrum of the quantum well. Some nonlinear features of NMC obtained from time-resolved measurements are also studied and discussed.

A practical, field-capable, 3.0 to 5.0 μm mid-wave infrared Computed-Tomography Imaging Spectrometer (CTIS) has been demonstrated. The CTIS employs a simple optical system in order to measure the object cube without any scanning . The data is not measured directly, but in a manner which requires complicated post-processing to extract an estimate of the object's spectral radiance. The advantage of a snapshot imaging spectrometer is that it can collect information about a dynamic event which a standard scanning spectrometer could either miss or corrupt with temporal artifacts. Results were presented for reconstructions of laboratory targets with sampling up to 46 x 46 x 21 voxels over a variable field-of-view, or 0.1 μm spectral sampling. Demonstration of the snapshot capability has been performed on both static targets and targets with rapidly varying content. The contents of this dissertation are directed towards two ends. The primary undertaking is a realization of the theoretical model of the CTIS is a practical, field-capable MWIR instrument. The design, calibration, and operation of the MWIR CTIS are explained in detail in the text and appendices. Of additional interest is the advancement of the theory to improve the design and functionality of the spectrometer. A new algorithm for design of the holographic disperser component of the CTIS is introduced. The design process dramatically extends the set of possibilities for the disperser. In order to improve the reconstruction potential of the spectrometer, the analytic expressions which describe the CTIS have been expanded into a principal component basis set. The result is a technique for creating an initial estimate of the object and a technique for improving the reconstruction algorithm.

The diffractive optic imaging spectrometer, DOIS, is a high resolution, compact, economical, rugged, programmable, multi-spectral imager. The design implements a conventional CCD camera and emerging diffractive optical element (DOE) technology in an elegant configuration, adding spectroscopy capabilities to current imaging systems. One limitation of DOEs, also known as zone plate lenses, is abundant chromatic aberration. DOIS exploits this typically unwanted effect, utilizing a DOE to perform the imaging and provide the dispersion necessary to separate a multi-spectral target into separate spectral images. The CCD is stepped or scanned along the optical axis recording a series of these spectral images. This process is referred to as diffractive spectral sectioning. Under this dissertation, three-dimensional spectral/spatial DOE imaging theory was developed to describe and predict the system's performance. The theory was implemented in a software model to simulate DOIS image cubes. A visible spectrum DOIS prototype was designed, fabricated and characterized. The system's incoherent point spread function was theoretically modeled and experimentally determined. To verify the simulations, the prototype's performance was demonstrated with a variety of known targets and compared to simulated image cubes. To reconstruct the three-dimensional object cubes, various deconvolution algorithms, nearest neighbor, inverse filtering and constrained iterative deconvolution, were developed and applied to both computer generated and experimentally measured image cubes. The best results were obtained using an SVD inverse Fourier deconvolution algorithm with regularization for noise suppression. The results demonstrate a resolving power greater than 288 (lambda /Deltalambda = 577nm/2nm). Finally, three additional DOIS designs are presented as suggestions for future work, including a configuration with no moving parts which records the entire 3D image cube in one "snapshot". DOIS is a practical image spectrometer that can be built to operate at ultraviolet, visible or infrared wavelengths for applications in surveillance, remote sensing, medical imaging, law enforcement, environmental monitoring, and laser counter intelligence.

This dissertation studies the feasibility of enhancing the spatial resolution of multi-look remotely-sensed imagery using an iterative resolution enhancement algorithm known as Projection Onto Convex Sets (POCS). A multi-angle satellite image modeling tool is implemented, and simulated multi-look imagery is formed to test the resolution enhancement algorithm. Experiments are done to determine the optimal configuration and number of multi-angle low-resolution images needed for a quantitative improvement in the spatial resolution of the high-resolution estimate. The important topic of aliasing is examined in the context of the POCS resolution enhancement algorithm performance. In addition, the extension of the method to multispectral sensor images is discussed and an example is shown using multispectral confocal fluorescence imaging microscope data. Finally, the remote sensing issues of atmospheric path radiance and directional reflectance variations are explored to determine their effect on the resolution enhancement performance.

The work detailed in the dissertation has resulted in a photoacoustic gas detector chamber that has been proved to be applicable for measuring very low concentration gas traces in ambient air. Calculation tools were developed for photoacoustic cell design, namely (i) a method estimating the acoustic quality factor of a cavity even for open configurations; and (ii) a technique calculating the effectiveness of light-sound energy conversion. An open, windowless resonant photoacoustic chamber was designed, that has high acoustic quality factor and good noise suppression. In such a chamber neither the window material nor the contamination adsorbed on the window surface can contribute to the generation of unwanted coherent background signal. The most important factor limiting the applications of high quality factor resonant photoacoustic cells is the resonant frequency shift due to the possible temperature and gas density variations in the chamber. To compensate this drift, a unique electronic resonance tracking system was constructed. A calibration experiment applying a grating tuned CO₂ laser was performed. The achieved detection limits were 8 ppb for ethylene, 50 ppt for sulphur-hexafluoride, and 11 ppm for carbon-dioxide. The reliability of the system was determined by three repeated measurement campaigns over a month, and it was found outstanding. The photoacoustic detector system was also tested against a conventional analytical technique and good agreement was found with the colorimetric ammonia detection method recommended by the NIOH.

Optical glint patterns convey information about the roughness of the surface on which they are formed. This dissertation describes two new optical instruments that relate the variations of specular laser reflections (laser glints) from the sea surface in angular, temporal, and wavenumber space to the surface roughness. Measurements from these instruments are interpreted with the objective of improving the capabilities of remote-sensing instruments that view the ocean surface. Particular attention is paid to cm waves, which are resonant structures for microwave sensors and the most significant component of optical roughness. The scanning-laser glint meter counts laser glints in 1° angular bins over a ± 75° nadir-angle range. The video laser-glint imager is a CCD video camera that images glints from an array of diode lasers. Both instruments were deployed on the research platform FLIP in the Pacific Ocean near the Oregon coast for three weeks during September 1995. Normalized histograms of angular glint counts are interpreted as the probability density function (PDF) of sea-surface slope, a Gram-Charlier expansion of which facilitates studying the variation with wind speed and atmospheric stability of moments through order four. The PDF appears approximately Gaussian, but is skewed toward downwind slopes in the along-wind axis due to asymmetric wind waves. No skewness exists in the cross-wind axis. Slope PDFs also have positive peakedness, increasing the probability of very small and large slopes relative to a Gaussian. Surface roughness is shown to depend strongly on atmospheric stability, which is proportional to the air-water temperature difference. Both the mean-square slope and the peakedness increase with negative stability (water warmer than air) relative to the neutral-stability case (water and air temperatures equal). Increased surface roughness, due to increases in wind speed or negative stability, causes glint-count fractal dimensions to increase, glint-image power spectra to flatten, and glint-image autocorrelations to appear more wrinkled. Glint-image spectra are dominated by glint-size effects, which are related to surface curvature. New ways of modeling the interaction of electromagnetic waves with the ocean surface are suggested by the new fractal and spectral characterizations of surface roughness that are introduced here.