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S.R. Kaeppler (UW-Madison / Indiana Univeristy), SNAP Collaboration
We have been testing optical and near infrared LEDs as irradiance standards for the precision photometric calibration of SNAP. LEDs offer great promise as calibration sources for space missions due to their wide range of color, stability, long life, compact size, and low power consumption. On-board lamp calibration sources are required for in-flight monitoring of system throughput and spectral response. In this project, we have been monitoring the stability of commercially available LEDs with respect to supply voltage, temperature environment, and thermal cycling. In this poster, we will present our recent studies of the variations in the spectral energy distribution of LED irradiance introduced by temperature and supply voltage variations. We present a method to accurately measure LEDs while under a controlled thermal environment. We expect that in the long run this research program will provide realistic tests of the precision to which calibrated LEDs can track in-flight variations of wide field filter/detector combinations.
This research was carried out through the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Indiana University Bloomington. Support from the National Science Foundation through AST-********* is gratefully acknowledged.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: srkaeppler@wisc.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.