Engineering topics

Mertz, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Mertz, L..

3 records

NASA NTRS1982

Low noise imaging photon counter for astronomy

The characteristics and performance of a Ranicon photon-counting system combined with digital tape recording are described. The most important features are a bialkali photocathode response over 256 X 256 digital pixels, with approximately 100 X 100 resolvable pixels at 50% MTF, a dead time of 16 microsec/count, a maximum recordable count rate of 14,400/sec, and a background of less than 1 count/digital pixel/h. A video cassette recorder serves for the digital recording which retains the temporal sequence of the registered photons. Astronomical applications will include low light level quantitative imaging and speckle imaging.

Mertz, L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

New two-dimensional photon camera

A photon-sensitive camera, applicable to speckle imaging of astronomical sources, high-resolution spectroscopy of faint galaxies in a crossed-dispersion spectrograph, or narrow-band direct imaging of galaxies, is presented. The camera is shown to supply 8-bit by 8-bit photon positions (256 x 256 pixels) for as many as 10 to the 6th photons/sec with a maximum linear resolution of approximately 10 microns. The sequence of photon positions is recorded digitally with a VHS-format video tape recorder or formed into an immediate image via a microcomputer. The four basic elements of the camera are described in detail: a high-gain image intensifier with fast-decay output phosphor, a glass-prism optical-beam splitter, a set of Gray-coded masks, and a photomultiplier tube for each mask. The characteristics of the camera are compared to those of other photon cameras.

Papaliolios, C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Simple Cassegrain scanning system for infrared astronomy

To meet the need for a reliable, fast imaging system capable of being taken rapidly on and off the telescope, a simple, inexpensive, and compact Cassegrain reimaging system for scanning IR images was constructed. Using commercially available components without requiring close mechanical tolerances, the design solves the problem of beam stability pointed out by Koornneef and van Overbeeke (1976). For the moving-iron galvanometer scanner, it is noted that at the imaging frequency of 0.5 Hz, hysteresis in image plane motion was found to be less than 0.2 arc sec for a 64-arc sec scan, and the deviation from linearity with a triangular wave input was found to be less than 0.3 arc sec. This system and a scanning secondary were used to image Venus at 11.5 microns, and compared with the scanning secondary, the reimaging system did not appear to contribute any additional noise, considerably improved mechanical reliability, and eliminated cross-scan motion

Apt, J.↗