Results of a CCPR Intercomparison of Spectral Irradiance Measurements by National Laboratories

An intercomparison of spectral irradiance measurements by 12 national laboratories has been carried out between 1987 and 1990. The intercomparison was conducted under the auspices of the Comité Consultatif de Photometrie et Radiometrie (CCPR) of the Comité International des Poids et Mesures, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) served as the pilot laboratory. The spectral range of the intercomparison was 250 to 2400 nm and the transfer standards used were commercial tungsten-halogen lamps of two types. The world-wide consistency of the results (one standard deviation) was on the order of 1% in the visible spectral region and 2 to 4% in the ultraviolet and infrared portions of the spectrum. The intercomparison revealed no statistically significant differences between spectral-irradiance scales based on blackbody physics and absolute detector radiometry.