Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite
<p>Even just shortly after the successful launch of the European Space Agency satellite Aeolus in August 2018, it turned out that dark current signal anomalies of single pixels (so-called “hot pixels”) on the accumulation charge-coupled devices (ACCDs) of the Aeolus detectors detrimentally imp...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/14/5153/2021/amt-14-5153-2021.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819112816280338432 |
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| author | F. Weiler T. Kanitz D. Wernham M. Rennie D. Huber M. Schillinger O. Saint-Pe R. Bell T. Parrinello O. Reitebuch |
| author_facet | F. Weiler T. Kanitz D. Wernham M. Rennie D. Huber M. Schillinger O. Saint-Pe R. Bell T. Parrinello O. Reitebuch |
| author_sort | F. Weiler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Even just shortly after the successful launch of the
European Space Agency satellite Aeolus in August 2018, it turned out that
dark current signal anomalies of single pixels (so-called “hot pixels”) on
the accumulation charge-coupled devices (ACCDs) of the Aeolus detectors
detrimentally impact the quality of the aerosol and wind products,
potentially leading to wind errors of up to several meters per second. This paper provides
a detailed characterization of the hot pixels that occurred during the
first 1.5 years in orbit. The hot pixels are classified according
to their characteristics to discuss their impact on wind measurements.
Furthermore, mitigation approaches for the wind retrieval are presented and
potential root causes for hot pixel occurrence are discussed. The
analysis of the dark current signal anomalies reveals a large variety of
anomalies ranging from pixels with random telegraph signal (RTS)-like
characteristics to pixels with sporadic shifts in the median dark current
signal. Moreover, the results indicate that the number of hot pixels
almost linearly increased during the observing period between 2 September 2018
and 20 May 2020 with 6 % of the ACCD pixels affected in total at the end
of the period leading to 9.5 % at the end of the mission lifetime. This work
introduces dedicated instrument calibration modes and ground processors,
which allowed for a correction shortly after a hot pixel occurrence. The
achieved performance with this approach avoids risky adjustments to the
in-flight hardware operation. It is demonstrated that the success of the
correction scheme varies depending on the characteristics of each hot pixel
itself. With the herein presented categorization, it is shown that
multi-level RTS pixels with high fluctuation are the biggest challenge for
the hot pixel correction scheme. Despite a detailed analysis in this
framework, no conclusion could be drawn about the root cause of the hot
pixel issue.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:19:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d716773fae845b89115430a7cbe1daf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:19:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d716773fae845b89115430a7cbe1daf2022-12-21T18:39:19ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482021-07-01145153517710.5194/amt-14-5153-2021Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satelliteF. Weiler0T. Kanitz1D. Wernham2M. Rennie3D. Huber4M. Schillinger5O. Saint-Pe6R. Bell7T. Parrinello8O. Reitebuch9Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, GermanyEuropean Space Agency-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, Noordwijk 2201 AZ, the NetherlandsEuropean Space Agency-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, Noordwijk 2201 AZ, the NetherlandsEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading RG2 9AX, United KingdomDoRIT, 82239 Alling, GermanyAirbus Defence and Space (Toulouse), Rue de Cosmonautes, 31400 Toulouse, FranceAirbus Defence and Space (Toulouse), Rue de Cosmonautes, 31400 Toulouse, FranceTeledyne e2v, 106 Waterhouse Lane, Chelmsford Essex CM1 2QU, United KingdomEuropean Space Agency-ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati RM, ItalyDeutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany<p>Even just shortly after the successful launch of the European Space Agency satellite Aeolus in August 2018, it turned out that dark current signal anomalies of single pixels (so-called “hot pixels”) on the accumulation charge-coupled devices (ACCDs) of the Aeolus detectors detrimentally impact the quality of the aerosol and wind products, potentially leading to wind errors of up to several meters per second. This paper provides a detailed characterization of the hot pixels that occurred during the first 1.5 years in orbit. The hot pixels are classified according to their characteristics to discuss their impact on wind measurements. Furthermore, mitigation approaches for the wind retrieval are presented and potential root causes for hot pixel occurrence are discussed. The analysis of the dark current signal anomalies reveals a large variety of anomalies ranging from pixels with random telegraph signal (RTS)-like characteristics to pixels with sporadic shifts in the median dark current signal. Moreover, the results indicate that the number of hot pixels almost linearly increased during the observing period between 2 September 2018 and 20 May 2020 with 6 % of the ACCD pixels affected in total at the end of the period leading to 9.5 % at the end of the mission lifetime. This work introduces dedicated instrument calibration modes and ground processors, which allowed for a correction shortly after a hot pixel occurrence. The achieved performance with this approach avoids risky adjustments to the in-flight hardware operation. It is demonstrated that the success of the correction scheme varies depending on the characteristics of each hot pixel itself. With the herein presented categorization, it is shown that multi-level RTS pixels with high fluctuation are the biggest challenge for the hot pixel correction scheme. Despite a detailed analysis in this framework, no conclusion could be drawn about the root cause of the hot pixel issue.</p>https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/14/5153/2021/amt-14-5153-2021.pdf |
| spellingShingle | F. Weiler T. Kanitz D. Wernham M. Rennie D. Huber M. Schillinger O. Saint-Pe R. Bell T. Parrinello O. Reitebuch Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| title | Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite |
| title_full | Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite |
| title_short | Characterization of dark current signal measurements of the ACCDs used on board the Aeolus satellite |
| title_sort | characterization of dark current signal measurements of the accds used on board the aeolus satellite |
| url | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/14/5153/2021/amt-14-5153-2021.pdf |
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