Ultra-portable field-capable short wave infrared transfer radiometers: initial system calibration and characterization

To complement the successful manufacture and deployment of two custom ultra-portable field-capable visible and nearinfrared (VNIR) transfer radiometers developed by the Remote Sensing Group (RSG) at the University of Arizona, RSG has been testing custom short-wave infrared (SWIR) detectors towards a new radiometer system design. Similar to the Silicon-based Calibration Test Site SI-Traceable Transfer Radiometer (CaTSSITTR), these thermoelectrically (TE) cooled InGaAs-based SWIR instruments are designed for stable and SI-traceable transfer radiometry in support of various field and laboratory calibrations around the world, much in support of the Radiometric Calibration Network, or RadCalNet, an initiative of the Working Group on Calibration and Validation of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). To accomplish widespread transfer radiometry in various field and laboratory environments, design goals include singleoperator portability and data collection, standalone battery power for field collection, and system operation at a wide ambient temperature range (-10–35°C). These goals were recently realized into complete prototype system design and manufacture. This work presents updated details of this final design but focuses mostly on the initial radiometric performance of these custom instruments as an evaluation of their suitability for high accuracy transfer radiometry in the 800 – 2500 nm spectral region.