Solar rejection window and narrow band pass filters for the Meteosat third generation lighting imager

Abstract

This paper presents the design, manufacture and characterization results of two optical interference filters to be used in the Lightning Imager (LI) optical head on the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) mission. The first optical filter is a Solar Rejection Window (SRW) to limit the solar thermal radiation absorbed by the optical head while the second optical filter is a Narrow Band Filter (NBF) intended to only pass the lightning discharge emission wavelengths. Each filter has its own distinctive design considerations and manufacturing challenges. The SRW must pass wavelengths from the 760 to 780 nm spectral range and reject (block) wavelengths from the ultraviolet (UV) to the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and up to 16.3° angle of incidence (AOI) and over a large temperature range (as when exposed to direct sunlight). The NBF is designed to pass only the oxygen emission triplet, centered around the 777.6 nm (vacuum) wavelength and rejecting other wavelengths. Considering the AOI of the light and the temperature excursion, the center wavelength (CWL) uniformity has to be better than 0.04% peak-to-valley (PV) over the 114 mm diameter clear aperture, which is a formidable challenge. We achieved a coating thickness uniformity less than ±0.01% PV, exceeding the prescribed specification. Post-deposition annealing was carried out to tune the bandpass to within pico-meters (pm) of the target CWL value while maintaining the desired CWL uniformity. To ensure that both the SRW and NBF filter meet the desired optical and physical specifications, a comprehensive series of optical and physical characterization tests, along with durability tests, were carried out on each deposition batch.