Space Qualification Studies of AOTF Devices Under the MISSE-11 Mission
The acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) devices are used in a variety of applications including hyperspectral and spectrapolarimetric based imaging. The AOTF devices provide several advantages including speed and random access to desired spectral bands and enable all-solid-state operation that are attractive for space applications. In this paper, the performance of Tellurium Dioxide (TeO 2 ) and Mercurous Bromide (Hg 2 Br 2 ) AOTF devices in space environment carried out under the NASA’s Materials International Space Station Experiments 11 (MISSE-11) mission is discussed. The purpose of the MISSE-11 mission was to study materials and devices subjected to space conditions for long term while attached to the International Space station (ISS). The TeO 2 AOTF was developed for short wavelength IR (SWIR) operation while the Hg 2 Br 2 AOTF device was developed for long wavelength IR (LWIR) operation. These devices were attached to the ISS platform for more than a year. Pre-flight and post-flight performance characterization were performed on these devices. In the case of TeO 2 AOTF, the preflight efficiency was around 87% with a center frequency at 68MHz while the post-flight efficiency was around 83%. However, the optical transmission of Hg 2 Br 2 AOTF had deteriorated considerably. The details of performance testing and analysis of both AOTF devices are discussed.