Investigations of the Dynamics and Thermodynamics of the Mesosphere LowerThermosphere and Upper Thermosphere at the Polar Regions with Optical Ground-Based Remote Sensing

摘要

This second year of the grant has been a year of consolidation and staging forthe continuing research. The advances made at the end of last year, in particular the proof-of-concept of solid state etalone, are now going through the process of testing and validating the findings made with the prototype devices. Thus far, all of the benchmarks of the electrooptic etalon behavior can be repeated, and we have also found-some new characteristics inherent to the device and its operation. For instance, in the non-linearity stage of measurements, it has been found that the reflective coatings are extremely sensitive to the presence of moisture in air. This effect seems to be enhanced by the existence of the electric fields (elrea 20 KV/cm) necessary for the operation of the electrooptic etalon. Operation in a vacuum, or in a controlled atmosphere are the obvious solutions, with the-latter being the preferred choice since it preserves the ideal of a lightweight field device. Recoating of the test etalon was necessary.