Work

Microwave-Photonic Radiometer for Atmospheric Sensing

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: For many years, microwave radiometers have contributed to the accuracy of atmospheric models which are used for weather forecasting and climate-change monitoring. In this work, a new microwave radiometer architecture is proposed that utilizes the advantages of photonics to measure a wide swath of microwave spectrum from 50 to 70 GHz. An optical-fiber-based arrayed waveguide grating is used to optically process the spectral content from a V-band radio front end. The result is a radiometer that measures the microwave spectrum near the 60 GHz oxygen absorption peak. The instrument described in this work is shown to produce brightness temperature spectra that fit with expected trends for given weather conditions and has a noise equivalent delta temperature (NEDT) of 0.68 K for an integration time of 8.8 seconds. The microwave-photonic approach to radiometry offers the capability to measure wider spectral bands than accessible using conventional means, and to probe currently unobserved frequencies, within a reasonable form-factor. Further development of the approach outlined in this work will lead to a space-worthy microwave radiometer for improved spectral coverage of atmospheric measurements.

Source: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing

DOI: 10.1109/jstars.2025.3569482

Authors: Hannah I. Sinigaglio, Janusz Murakowski, Dennis W. Prather

Institutions: University of Delaware, Phase Sensitive Innovations (United States)

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Photonic Communication Systems

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,800

Funder: Air Force Research Laboratory