3-Color DPAS Aerosol Absorption Monitor

We propose to develop a highly sensitive and compact RGB DPAS aerosol absorption monitor for NASA's Airborne Measurement Program. It will measure aerosol light absorption simultaneous at three spectral regions: blue, green and red. The proposed measurement technique takes advantage of the current rapid development on high-power semiconductor lasers MEMS microphones. It will eventually weigh less than 25 pounds and consume approximately 300W electrical power. It will also be capable of being remotely controlled and being operated at a variety of sampling pressure conditions for the airborne measurements. Since majority of the electronic and optical components of the proposed system are commercially available except the home-designed acoustic cells, its total manufacturing cost could be less than $20,000 per unit.