Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Radiometry TD

Cursus/option : 2A
Date de mise à jour : 31 August 2022
Année scolaire : 2022
Intervenants : Aleksandar Popovic, Etienne Homassel, Julien Moreau

1
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

2
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Institut d’Optique Graduate School

Radiometry TD 1

Learning objectives: knowing how to use the different radiometric relationships to model the
path of light from the source to the illuminated object and finally to the detector. Being able
to evaluate the geometrical extent of a simple optical system. Illustrate the difference between
a Lambertian surface and a mirror.

Exercise 1: Laser ranging of the moon with pulse laser

The very precise measurement of the Earth-Moon distance by laser is an experiment that
began in the 1970s and is still being carried out at the present time, in particular as it makes it
possible to verify the fundamental physical laws of gravity.

The system is the following: a pulsed laser emitter, on Earth, is

directed at the Moon. The main characteristics of the laser
emitter are the following: peak power Ppeak = 100 MW, total
beam divergence 2 = 10 rad pulse duration  = 1 ns and
wavelength = 1 m.
Côte d’Azur Observatory. Main
site for the Moon laser-ranging
Laser intensity is supposed to be uniform inside the beam. A
experiment.
telescope, situated close by the laser emitter, is observing the
laser spot on the moon. It is made up of a telescope of diameter Dop = 1.4 m open at f/5, and
of perfect transmittance. At its focus, there is a detector of diameter Dd = 150 m.

1) What is the peak radiant intensity Ilaser of the laser beam?

2) Give the expression of the peak irradiance Elaser of the laser on the moon (the illuminated
area of the moon is supposed to be normal to the incident laser beam). Deduce the peak
radiance LMoon reflected by the Moon. The ground on the moon is covered with rocks and
dust, its reflection is Lambertian with a very low albedo Rd = 10% at laser wavelength.

3) From this radiance, calculate the flux received by the telescope for each pulse reflected by
the Moon (distance earth - moon = 380 000 km). Justify the geometrical extent used.

3
 Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

4) At the return of each pulse, how many photons are received by the detector? Conclude
that the experiment is almost impossible in these conditions.

5) What would be your answer if the detector diameter was twice smaller?

In the actual experiment, the laser illuminates a zone of the moon where a set of cube corners
has been installed by the Apollo 11 mission. The area of the set of cube corners is SRR = 1 m2;
its reflectance 100%, and the laser light is being retro reflected inside a cone of total
divergence RR = 0.1 mrad.

6) What is the peak radiance LRR of the laser light that is retro-reflected
by the cube corners?

7) What is the number of laser photons from the cube corners that are
received by the detector at the return of each pulse? Compare to
Set of cube corners for the
Lunar Laser Ranging the previous case.
Experiment (Apollo 11 mission).

4
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Tips
(read only if you are stuck. Try by yourself first, it is the best way to learn!)

1) Simply use the definition of Intensity and the classical expression of the solid angle of a
conic beam.

2) For this type of radiometric problems where an object (here the Moon) is illuminated by a
primary source (here the laser) and becomes a secondary source, always start by writing
the flux or the irradiance received by the object from the primary source (in this case,
remember Bouguer law!) and then use the appropriate relation between the flux or the
irradiance and the radiance.

3) First, show that we are in a flux collector configuration (for example, look at the diameter
of the laser spot on the Moon and compare it to the field of view of the telescope). The
flux received is in the 10s of pW range.

4) Remember that the energy of a light pulse is equal to: Flux x duration.

6) The flux received by the cube corner should be easy to write. The tricky part is to find the
radiance reflected by the cube: start with the definition of a radiance and use the
expression of G for a circular beam.

7) Very similar to question 3. You should find a flux of the order of 10 nW.

5
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Institut d’Optique Graduate School

Radiometry TD 2

Learning Objectives: illustrate the limitations of a broad light source. Being able to evaluate
the luminance of a black body. Knowing how to evaluate the geometrical extent of a system in
several optical configurations.

Exercise 1. Solar concentrator

We want to calculate the maximum theoretical efficiency
of a solar concentrator. The mirror optic of this solar
concentrator will be modelled by a thin lens.

s
Sun natural
Solar reflector at Odeillo, Sun irradiance
Languedoc-Roussillon. P = 1 MW


1) Give the expression of the ’
irradiance ESun of the Sun on
Solar
the Earth surface (neglecting Sun concentrator
atmosphere) and the irradiance
Ec with the solar concentrator.

2) Deduce the maximum theoretical efficiency, defined by C = Ec / ESun Do the numerical

application. Remember that the angular diameter of the Sun is equal to s = 0.5°.

Exercise 2. Pinhole camera (from 2017 exam)

A pinhole camera is a simple box with one side pierced by a tiny hole that lets in light. On
the opposite surface is formed the inverted image of the object. This system was probably
used to make the first known photograph of history, by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1827.

Image
Pinhole
6
Object
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

From a geometrical optic point of view, the small size of the hole ensures the stigmatism and
therefore the quality of the image. This very simple system does not present any aberration
and gives a clear image whatever the distance of the object! The counterpart is that, because
of the very small size of the hole collecting the light, the time necessary to impress the
photosensitive surface is extremely long: several hours for the historical photography of
Joseph Niépce. The objective of this exercise is to radiometrically compare this pinhole with
modern cameras.

The pinhole camera is a cubic box of side’s length L with a circular pinhole of diameter Dt. We
place a visible sensor composed of 2048x2048 pixels centered at the back of the box. The
pixels are square with a side p = 10 μm. We photograph an object located at a distance d.

1) Give the expression of the etendue of a beam limited by the pinhole input hole and
completely illuminating a pixel at the center of the sensor (on the optical axis).

2) Consider a point on the object located on the optical axis. If the pinhole was infinitely
small, the light of this point object would fall on only one pixel (neglecting diffraction), the
one located on the optical axis (stigmatism). Give the expression of the maximum diameter
of the hole as a function of d, L and p to ensure this stigmatism: that is, no light from this
object point falls on another pixel. You will be assumed in the following questions that this
condition is respected.

The photographed object, the roof of a house as in the

historical photograph of Joseph Niépce, is supposed to
be Lambertian with an albedo  = 30% and is illuminated
at 45 ° by the sun in the configuration shown in the
figure.

3) The sun is a black body of temperature Tsol = 5900 K.

Give an approximate expression of the luminance of the sun Lsol in the spectral band Δ =
0,2 μm (centered around 500 nm).

4) Knowing that the angular diameter in the sky is sol = 0.5 °, give the expression of the
illuminance of sunlight on the roof. Deduce the luminance Lobj reflected by the roof.

7
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

5) The roof has a surface of 10 m2. By carefully justifying the etendue used, give the
expression and the numerical application of the flux received by the pixel in the center of
the sensor. You will take L = 50 cm, d = 5 m and Dt =5 µm.

6) The pinhole is now replaced by a photographic objective with an aperture N = 8, a

transmission T = 80% and a focal length equal to the size L of the box. Give the expression
and the numerical application of the flux collected in this configuration. Make the ratio in
terms of flux of these two configurations and conclude.

8
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Tips
(read only if you are stuck. Try by yourself first, it is the best way to learn!)
Exercise 1
1) Use one of two approximations for G seen in the course and remember that the irradiance
is just the flux falling on an infinitely small surface dS.

2) Observe that the angle  has, obviously, a maximum value (albeit impossible to realize in a
real solar concentrator!).

Exercise 2
1) Simple application of the formula of G for a beam limited by two surfaces.

2) A little drawing will help...

3) Notice that the spectral band considered in the question is centered around the maximum
of the black-body emission of the Sun (and you should know by now the spectral radiance
at the maximum of emission of a black body. From there, you have the radiance inside the
spectral band).

4) Very similar to question 2 of TD 1 (except that you start with a radiance and not an
intensity).

5) Prove that we are in an imaging system configuration. You should find a flux abysmally
small, less than 1 photon/s ! (not using any optics has a big counterpart)

6) Still in an imaging system configuration, just applied the appropriate formula giving the
flux received on a pixel in an optical system as a function of the aperture.

9
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Institut d’Optique Graduate School

Radiometry TD 3

Learning objectives: knowing how to write an optical design problem in term of geometrical
extent. Being able to write the thermal equilibrium of a system and to use Stefan's law to
deduce its temperature. Understanding the concept of emissivity.

Exercise 1. Choice of a source for a collimator

During a lab work, you are asked to choose a light source (+ some optics) for illuminating a
collimator. This collimator is open at f/2, with a circular aperture of diameter D = 3 mm in its
object plane. The radiance inside the aperture must be uniform, with a minimum radiance
level equal to Lmin = 105 Wm-2 sr-1, on a spectral bandwidth, centred around 900 nm, which
must be at most equal to  = 100 nm.

You have the choice between two possible sources: a Light Emitting Diode (LED) and an
incandescent source coupled with a band-pass filter.

1) The LED emitting surface, is circular with a diameter Dled= 500 m. The total flux emitted
by the LED over half space is equal to Fled= 100 mW, inside the specified spectral
bandwidth. What is the value of its radiance and is it enough for the specification of the
optical system?

2) If yes, it is possible to find some optics (such as a condenser conjugating the diode onto
the hole) that could satisfy the other specifications on the the collimator?

3) The second possible choice is an incandescent source. It can be considered as a

rectangular Lambertian surface of area a x b (2 mm x 5 mm) at a temperature T=3200 K

10
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

with an emissivity  = 0,4 inside the specify bandwidth. As previously, describe some
simple set-up transforming the geometry of the beam from the incandescent source into
one that satisfies the specification on the geometrical extent of the collimator.

4) What will be the radiance at the entrance aperture of the collimator, inside the spectral
bandwidth, if the maximum transmittance of the band-pass filter in front of the
incandescent source is Tmax = 80% ? Conclude.

Exercise 2. James-Webb telescope: equilibrium temperature

The James-Web was launched in December 2021 and is now

the largest telescope in space. Unlike its predecessor Hubble,
James-Webb is observing the universe in the infrared. A
technological challenge was to design the thermal protection
of the telescope to protect it from the Sun as the different
cameras and spectrometers on board must work at a very low
James-Webb space telescope
position at the L2 Lagrange temperature (<50 K typically for the NIR detectors)
point.

The radi ative balance equation is sufficient to calculate the equilibrium temperature of any
object (from a space probe to a planet), illuminated by the Sun. To simplify the problem, we
will model James-Webb as an infinitely thin disc of radius R facing the Sun.

1) First, we consider that each side of the disc is a perfect blackbody (which is equivalent of
having no thermal protection). Write the condition of thermal equilibrium. Deduce the
expression of the temperature T of the James-Webb telescope as a function of the
temperature of the sun Tsun = 5900 K, its angular diameter Sun = 30'.

2) To reach a much lower temperature, a solution is to use a thermal protection on the side
facing the Sun with a high reflectivity in the visible wavelengths, and a high emissivity in
the I.R. Calculate the equilibrium temperature with  = 0 for < 5 µm and  = 1 for >5
µm. Use: Lsun ( > 5 µm) = 0.5%.𝐿𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
𝑆𝑢𝑛 .

3) The thermal protection of the James-Webb telescope is made of 5 overlapping layers.

Explain qualitatively why this allows to reach even lower temperatures than the simple
‘disc’ model we have used in previous questions.

11
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Tips
(read only if you are stuck. Try by yourself first, it is the best way to learn!)
Exercise 1
Okay, this one is not easy. You are going to show that something is impossible (at least from a
radiometric point of view) which is a way of thinking that can be extremely useful when
designing an optical system.
The most important thing to notice is that there are in fact two conditions that must be
fulfilled by the collimator. The first one is directly given in the text (L>L min). For the second one,
try to combine the other specifications (aperture of the collimator and diameter of the circular
aperture) in a single condition on the minimum etendue that must be realized.

Exercise 2
Thermal equilibrium of an object is simply saying that the flux received is equal to the flux
emitted. At this point, you should know how to calculate the flux received by an object from
the Sun as we have already done this calculation in the previous TD. Notice that we must
consider the radiance of the Sun and the emission of the object on the whole spectrum as
every wavelength will contribute to the heating and cooling of the object.

The crucial point here is to realize that the surface which appears on each side of the equality
are different. For the flux received, it is the cross section of the object facing the Sun, whereas
for the flux emitted it is the total surface of the object. The larger the surface in shadow (i.e.
not facing the Sun) you have, the better you can dissipate the heat.

12
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Institut d’Optique Graduate School

Radiometry TD 4

Learning objectives: knowing how to quantify the losses during the propagation of light in the
hypothesis of simple scattering. To be able to evaluate the luminance of a scattering medium.

Exercise. Underwater observation of fish

In a calm sea, with a sun at zenith, a diver at a depth of zh = 5

m is observing marine life beneath him. In the visible, the
maximum solar illuminance at sea level is E0 = 100 000 lux. For
a mean wavelength of 550 nm, the absorption and scattering
coefficients of sea water are respectively equal to µa = 0. 08 m-1
and µs = 0. 004 m-1. We will neglect light losses due to the
reflectance of air-water interface.

1) Within the single scattering hypothesis, give the expression of solar illuminance E(z) at
depth z below the sea level.

2) Assuming that the sea is homogeneous with isotropic scattering, what is the expression of
the phase function of the medium?

a) Write the intensity Is of the light being scattered by a horizontal sea layer of thickness
dz, situated at depth z., as a function of E(z).
b) Deduce the elementary luminance dLz of this sea layer.

3) Still within the single scattering hypothesis, give the expression of the apparent luminance
dLa of this sea layer, seen by the diver. Deduce the total luminance Lhp of the ocean
between zh and some depth zp.

4) Give the expression and numerical value of Lh∞, for zp = ∞, which is the apparent
luminance seen by the diver of the bottom of the sea (supposed to be very deep), when
there is no object immersed beneath him.

13
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

5) Beneath the diver, at some depth zp below sea level, there are some fish that will be
modeled as plane, Lambertian objects, of albedo R in the visible. What is the apparent
luminance L’hp of such fish for the diver, i.e., the luminance due to the reflection of solar
light by the fish plus the scattered light from the sea water that is in between the fish and
the observer (Lhp) ? What contribution to the luminance are we neglecting here?

6) What is the apparent contrast of a white fish (R = 1) and that of a black fish (R = 0), when
they are swimming below the diver at depth zp (with respect to the sea surface). We will
define apparent contrast as Capp = (L’hp - Lh∞) / Lh∞

7) It is considered that for visual detection, the minimum absolute value for the apparent
contrast must be higher than 2%. In these conditions, how far away may the diver expect
to observe white fish, black fish? Which one will be detected the farthest?

14
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Tips
(read only if you are stuck. Try by yourself first, it is the best way to learn!)
1) Just write Beer-Lambert law.
2) Start from the definition of the phase function. For 2b), remember that the intensity of a
source is equal to its luminance (or radiance) multiply by some elementary surface dS.
3) Same as question 1 and some simple integration of an exponential.
4) You should find a luminance of about 120 Cd.m-2

15
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Institut d’Optique Graduate School

Radiometry TD 5

The following exercise is based on an exam of previous years. To train and verify that you
have the necessary knowledge, try to solve the exercise in groups of 3 or 4 and only asking
the help of the teacher when you are really stuck.

Exercise: BepiColombo mission (excerpt from 2015 exam)

The European Space Agency BepiColombo mission to the planet
Mercury is scheduled for launch in 2017 and to arrive around Mercury in
2024.

Among the many instruments that will equip the spacecraft, there is a
thermal infrared spectral imaging system called MERTIS.

This spectral imaging system works in ‘push broom’ mode (see Figure 1). The detector is a
single line of 120 square pixels of size p = 35 μm, in the focal plane of a telescope with a focal
length f = 50 mm, a numerical aperture N = 2 and a transmission Top = 50 %. To acquire an
image during the overflight of Mercury, the satellite's movement in one direction is combined
with the signal acquired by the pixel line. Thus, at regular time intervals, 1-dimensional images
are acquired. All these 1-dimensional images are combined to make a two-dimensional image.

Pixel line

Telescope

Movement of the
spacecraft on its orbit

Line area imaged

on the ground

Figure 1: ‘Push-broom’ imaging principle

16
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Finally, a diffraction grating (not shown here) allows to select a spectral detection band with a
total spectral width of Δ = 100 nm, between 7 and 14 microns, in which the image will be
acquired.

The scientific objective of this instrument is to study the chemical and mineralogical
composition of Mercury's surface. The rocks are differentiated by their emissivity , which is
the parameter that must be measured as precisely as possible with this instrument.

The probe has an average altitude of H = 750 km. The atmosphere of Mercury is almost
nonexistent and will be neglected.

1) Calculate the size a x L of the area imaged on Mercury's surface by the pixel line. What is
the spatial resolution in the image? Do the numerical application. What about diffraction?

2) The surface of Mercury is considered as a gray body at a temperature T = 440 K and an

average emissivity  = 0.9. Calculate numerically the spectral radiance of the surface of
Mercury for a central wavelength of detection 0 = 10 µm. Derive an approximate
numerical value of the surface radiance Lsurf integrated in the spectral band of the
radiometer Δ around 0.

3) Give the expression, with justification, of the flux Fsurf received by a pixel in the center of

the detector observing the surface of Mercury, in the spectral band of the detector. Do the
numerical application.

4) Given that the movement of the probe BepiColombo on its orbit causes a displacement of

the line of sight on the ground at a speed v = 2.6 km/s, calculate the time  during which
a given point on the surface is seen by a pixel. Deduce the number of photons received by
a pixel from a given area of the surface. Do the numerical application.

5) The radiometer also receives stray light from the Sun reflected by the surface of Mercury.

We assumed the surface to be Lambertian of albedo  = 0.1. Give the expression of this
flux Fpar received by one pixel of the radiometer in the spectral band Δ for the same
central wavelength 0 = 10 µm. We will consider the sun at the zenith, with a temperature

17
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Tsol = 5900 K, and an angular diameter of  = 3.3 ° in the sky of Mercury. Do the
numerical application.

6) Give the expression of the signal to noise ratio SNR = ΔFsurf/ Fpar where ΔFsurf is the

variation of flux emitted by the surface for a variation Δ of its emissivity (assuming Fpar
remains constant). Derive an estimate of the smallest variation Δ which can be detected
for a minimum SNR of 5.

18
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

Institut d’Optique Graduate School

Radiometry TD 6

The following exercise is based on an exam of previous years. To train and verify that you
have the necessary knowledge, try to solve the exercise in groups of 3 or 4 and only asking
the help of the teacher when you are really stuck.

Exercise. Road radar

A road radar uses a pulsed laser at a wavelength of  = 900 nm with a

total angle divergence  = 4 mrad. The duration of the laser pulses is 5 ns
with a peak power of 250 W. The principle is to send a laser pulse to a
vehicle and to collect the reflected flux. We will not consider here how the
velocity is measured (Doppler effect), but simply try to evaluate the collected
flux and the maximum detection distance.

1) Give the expression of the peak irradiance, supposed spatially homogeneous, of a laser
pulse at a distance d.
2) The laser is reflected by a car at a distance d. The reflection is modeled by a BRDF.
a. Using the general definition of a BRDF, show that, in the case of an incident flux F 0 on
a surface along a single direction (0, 0), the total reflected flux 𝐹𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑡 throughout half-
space can be written:

𝐹𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝐹0 ∫ 𝐵𝑅𝐷𝐹(𝜃0 , 𝜑0 , 𝜃 ′ , 𝜑′ ). cos 𝜃′. 𝑑Ω′

1
space
2
b. We suppose that the reflection is of the type: 𝐵𝑅𝐷𝐹(𝜃′) = 𝑘. 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 (𝜃′); independent of
𝜃0 , 𝜑0 and 𝜑′ . With ’ the angle of the direction of observation with the normal to the
surface and k a constant of normalization. Assuming the reflectivity of the surface is
2𝑅
equal to R, show that 𝑘 =
𝜋

c. Deduce the expression of the radiance coming from the illuminated area on the car.

3) The detector is a fast, circular photodiode of diameter a = 100 µm, located at the focal
point of an optic open at N = 4 with a diameter D = 5 cm.

a. Justify that, whatever the distance d, we are always in image sensor configuration.

19
Radiometry – IOGS – 2022

b. Assuming that the illuminated surface of the car makes an angle of 45° from the
direction of observation, with R = 30% and an optical transmission equal to 80%, show
that the flux received by the photodiode, with each return pulse, is equal to:

586 𝜇𝑊. 𝑚2
𝐹𝑟 =
𝑑2
c. The maximum detection distance dmax is defined as the distance for which the number
of photons received by the photodiode for each return pulse is smaller than N = 100
photons. Calculate this distance.

4) In good weather, the coefficient of extinction of the atmosphere is equal to 0.5 km -1.

a. Justify that for a distance less than dmax, the single scattering hypothesis is valid.

b. Calculate the number of photons received by the photodiode at the distance d max.

20