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Project Leader
Charles Bamber
Phone: 613-990-8990
Fax: 613-952-1394
Email: Charles.Bamber@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Absolute Spectral Responsivity
This facility is used for the first level calibration of transfer standards of absolute spectral responsivity. These transfer standards are the basis for the realization of several photometric and radiometric standards. Most NMI's now have cryogenic radiometer facilities, but NRC was the first NMI to use monochromator-based rather than laser based apparatus. The advantage of the monochromator approach is that it allows fully automated measurements over a wide spectral range, and the cost of setting up and maintaining the facility is much lower than with laser-based apparatus. The cryogenic radiometer operates at liquid helium temperatures and has an overall accuracy of 0.02%. Over the last few years, the cryogenic radiometer facility has been used at NRC to realize new spectral responsivity scales in the IR (700nm-1800nm), VIS-IR (400nm-1200nm) and in the UV-VIS (250nm-700nm). This work was motivated by current international comparisons of spectral responsivity scales in those spectral ranges, and by the need to improve the accuracy of our spectral responsivity calibration services. Current work involves the realization of a spectral responsivity scale in the UV (200nm-400nm) using as transfer standards PtSi and Si detectors. This work is being carried out in conjunction with an on-going international comparison being piloted by PTB.
