Development of the longwave infrared imager (LIR) onboard PLANET-C

Abstract

The Longwave Infrared Camera (LIR), which mounts an uncooled micro-bolometer array (UMBA), is under development for the Japanese Venus orbiter mission, PLANET-C. LIR detects thermal emission from the top of the sulfur dioxide cloud in a wavelength region 8--12 &mu;m to map the cloud-top temperature which is typically as low as 230 K. The requirement for the noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) is 0.3 K. Images of blackbody targets in room temperature (~300 K) and low temperature (~230 K) have been acquired in a vacuum environment using a prototype model of LIR, showing that the NETD of 0.2 K and 0.8 K are achieved in ~300 K and ~230 K, respectively. We expect that the requirement of <i>NETD</i><0.3 K for ~230 K targets will be achieved by averaging several tens of images which are acquired within a few minutes. The vibration test for the UMBA was also carried out and the result showed the UMBA survived without any pixel defects or malfunctions. The tolerance to high-energy protons was tested and verified using a commercial camera in which a same type of UMBA is mounted. Based on these results, a flight model is now being manufactured with minor modifications from the prototype.