Ground calibration of compact infrared camera (CIRC) for earth observation

The compact infrared camera (CIRC) is an uncooled infrared array detector (microbolometer) with the primary goal of detecting wildfires, which are major and chronic disasters affecting numerous countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Eliminating the cooling system reduces the size, cost, and electrical power of the sensor. Two CIRCs have been developed, which will be launched in JFY 2013 and 2014 onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) and CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET). We have finished the ground calibration test of the CIRC Proto Flight Model (PFM) onboard ALOS-2 and CALET. The imaging quality and radiometric quality have been confirmed. We obtained the data needed for image correction and constructed a data correction algorithm. An airborne experiment with a ground test model was also carried out to verify the data correction algorithm. In this paper, we provide an overview of the CIRC and the ground calibration results.