Particle Phase Spectrometer
Particle Phase Spectrometer (PPS)
The PPS is being developed under a NASA Phase II SBIR award. The new instrument is designed to provide superior identification of cloud drops and small ice particles. The PPS combines upgraded versions of two of its commercial instruments, the cloud particle imager (CPI) and 2D-Gray optical array probe (OAP). The upgraded version of the CPI improves pixel resolution from 2.3 µm to 0.7 µm, with an effective resolution of 1 µm compared with the commercial CPI resolution of about 4 µm. The new 2D-Gray probe improves pixel resolution from 10 µm to 5 µm. The upgraded pixel resolutions necessitate redesigned data-processing electronics to increase data rates by an order of magnitude, and adds data storage on a solid-state disc (SSD) at the probe. The PPS will utilize the existing 3V-CPI housing. As of December 2023 the PPS has been completely designed and tested in the laboratory. Parts are being manufactured for the airborne probe, which is anticipated to undergo test flights in the spring of 2024.
