Comparison of the relative merits of the midwave and longwave infrared bands for various target types using detected thermal contrast

Seán M. Stewart

doi:10.1117/12.2194252

21 October 2015 Comparison of the relative merits of the midwave and longwave infrared bands for various target types using detected thermal contrast

Seán M. Stewart

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9653, Target and Background Signatures; 96530H (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2194252
Event: SPIE Security + Defence, 2015, Toulouse, France

Abstract

The two most important atmospheric transmission bands in the infrared occur at the midwave band of 3–5 μm and the longwave band of 8–12 μm respectively. For a given infrared detector a common question asked is, of the two, which, if any, gives the better performance? A question not without controversy, in this study an analysis designed to assess the relative merits of infrared detectors operating in either of these spectral bands based on the recently defined thermal figure of merit known as the detected thermal contrast is undertaken. Under ideal limiting conditions, by considering a range of targets whose spectral emissivities vary as a function of both wavelength and temperature, we impugn a number of results previously reported in the literature regarding the performance of a detector made using detected thermal contrast as the thermal figure of merit. For the two broad types of detectors considered it is found the midwave band for both thermal and quantum detectors gives better performance for a range of different target types.

Citation Download Citation

Seán M. Stewart "Comparison of the relative merits of the midwave and longwave infrared bands for various target types using detected thermal contrast", Proc. SPIE 9653, Target and Background Signatures, 96530H (21 October 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2194252

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