Applications involving space based instrumentation and aerodynamically heated surfaces often require knowledge of the bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of an exposed surface at high temperature. Addressing this need, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) developed a BRDF facility that features a multiple–port vacuum chamber, multiple laser sources covering the spectral range from the longwave infrared to the ultraviolet, imaging pyrometry and laser heated samples. Laser heating eliminates stray light that would otherwise be seen from a furnace and requires minimal sample support structure, allowing low thermal conduction loss to be obtained, which is especially important at high temperatures. The goal is to measure the BRDF of ceramic-coated surfaces at temperatures in excess of 1000°C in a low background environment. Most ceramic samples are near blackbody in the longwave infrared, thus pyrometry using a LWIR camera can be very effective and accurate.

Date Published: 5 September 2014
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 9205, Reflection, Scattering, and Diffraction from Surfaces IV, 920503 (5 September 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2062838

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9205:
Reflection, Scattering, and Diffraction from Surfaces IV
Leonard M. Hanssen, Editor(s)