LIDAR at Arecibo Observatory
and
The Puerto Rico Photonics
Institute
Jonathan Friedman
Shikha Raizada
Craig Tepley
Raul Garcia
Freddy Perez and Joseph Serrano
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
What is LIDAR?
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Why Different Colors?
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
1
0
10
100
1000
10000
500
100
200
Altitude (km)
1000
Channel #
Rayleigh
Scatter
Resonance Scatter
Sporadic
Layer
Meteor
Region
Photon counts
PMT Gain
Switching
1500
Atmospheric Structure and LIDAR
What is the added value of lidar for
Arecibo Observatory?
• The ISR is sensitive to ions
• The lidar is sensitive to neutral atoms and
molecules, and one specific ion can be studied –
Ca+
• Airglow can study specific height ranges, lidar can
probe inside and outside those ranges.
• Under certain circumstances, lidar and radar, lidar
and airglow, or all three can study the same
parameters. This allows confirmation (or not) of
measurements.
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
What do we study with lidar?
•
•
•
•
•
Atmospheric Dynamics
Atmospheric Chemistry
Global Change
Sun-Earth Interactions
Also …
– Sahara dust
– Cirrus clouds
– Water vapor
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Tepley et al., 2003
K LIDAR
Electrons
Radar
Ca+ LIDAR
Simultaneous Lidar and Radar Observations from 2002
11-12 June 2002
12-13 June 2002
14-15 June 2002
Temperatures, Neutral, and Ions
Delgado et al., 2012
The Puerto Rico Photonics Institute
• The only center for photonics research,
development, education and training in
Puerto Rico.
• A magnet for industry
• A partner for research and education
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
What is Photonics
• Photonics is the manipulation of light for
technology development, science, and other
applications.
• It is used in Communications, navigation,
displays, remote sensing, biotech, medical
devices, defense, security, energy,
astronomy, space weather, computing,
lighting, materials processing, environment,
transportation, entertainment, computeraided design…
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
What tools does Photonics Employ?
• Lasers of all types (from DVD players to welding)
• Fiber optics
• Sensors, such as CCDs (a gift from
astronomy)
• Electronics, to connect optical signals to
devices
• Optical components (lenses, mirrors, etc.)
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Photonics as a Career
• Fast-growing technologies ⇒ Workforce
needs
• Fascinating work ⇒ Lasers, sensors, metamaterials, holograms, fibers, spectrum
generation …
• High salaries ⇒ Orlando, FL photonics
companies pay >$40k/year for technicians
with AAS degrees & little experience
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
What is the Puerto Rico Photonics
Institute (PRPI)?
• The only center for photonics research,
development, education and training in
Puerto Rico.
• A magnet for industry
• A partner for research and education
• Links: http://prpi.suagm.edu
•
http://www.facebook.com/PRPhotonics
•
Twitter: @PRPhotonics
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Education and Training
Certificates
Associate Degrees
Master’s Degrees
Lasers, Fibers, Laser Gyros, Spectroscopy,
Optical Design, Remote Sensing
• All courses will be taught in English
• All degrees and certificates will require
research participation
•
•
•
•
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Research
• Current
– Remote Sensing ⇒ LIDAR at Arecibo, elsewhere
– Aerospace Photonics ⇒ Laser gyroscopes for
navigation and sensors
• Future
– Space Weather ⇒ Monitoring stations, prediction
center
– High power lasers
– Biophotonics ⇒ A hot field. We will look to add
this to our research portfolio.
–…
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
PRPI is supported by grants from …
• SUAGM $1.5M
• The Puerto Rico Science, Research, and
Technology Trust $210K
• The Puerto Rico Industrial Development
Company $273K
• MIT Draper Laboratory $65K ($130K)
• The National Science Foundation $660K
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Photo: J. Friedman,
Arecibo
Photo ©Tachi Laboratory, U. Tokyo
http://prpi.suagm.edu
http://www.facebook.com/PRPhotonics
Photo: Chris Gunn
Arecibo Observatory – 31 May 2013
Twitter: @PRPhotonics