Far-infrared calibration sources for use in cryogenic telescopes

Abstract
IR calibration sources have been built using a 'reverse bolometer' approach. A NiCr thin film is deposited on a thin sapphire chip, forming a robust, resistive heater with high emissivity. The heater is suspended within a metal ring using nylon fibers, and electrically connected with low thermal conductivity wires. Finished devices may be mounted directly ona cryostat work surface and provide a wide range of greybody output with minimal power dissipation to the cold bath. Under typical operating conditions, a 40K equivalent blackbody output can be obtained with 1 to 2 mW electrical input power. The time constant varies according to type of device and specified temperature, but ranges from 100 ms to seconds. Accelerated lifetime test show output repeatability to within +/- 0.8 percent throughout 94,000 cycles from 4.2 K to 60K. The devices have survived shake testing at cryogenic temperatures and will be used for in- flight array calibration in the Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF instrument, a part of the SIRTF.