Infrared Cavity Radiometer Reflectometry in Support of Total Solar Irradiance Instruments

A key component required to achieve a high degree of accuracy in satellite solar irradiance measurements using cavity radiometers, is the characterization of the cavity spectral absorptance over the broad spectral range of the Solar output. This includes the infrared region up to at least 10 μm. In order to accurately measure high levels of absorptance of cavities, NIST has developed a laser and integrating sphere based facility (the Complete Hemispherical Infrared Laser-based Reflectometer (CHILR)). The system is used for both radiometer and blackbody cavity characterization. We report the results of reflectance (1 - absorptance) measurements of radiometer cavities designed for two solar irradiance measurement instruments: 1) the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) and 2) the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) instrument on the SORCE and TSIS missions. The measurements were made using the NIST CHILR instrument as well as the Infrared Reference Integrating Sphere (IRIS) for relative spectral reflectance. The IRIS was used to obtain relative spectral reflectance for the TIM cones. The IRIS was also used to obtain the spectral reflectance of other surfaces in the ACRIM instrument that also interact with the incident irradiance and potentially affect the cavity performance. These reflectance results are used to validate previously estimated performance parameters of the two instruments.