An Overview of Uncooled Thermal Imaging Detection Mechanisms and Their Figures of Merit

doi:10.1117/3.415351.ch1

Book: Uncooled Thermal Imaging Arrays, Systems, and Applications

Author(s): Paul W. Kruse

Published: 2001

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.415351.ch1

Author Affiliations +

Abstract

The subject of this book is uncooled thermal imaging focal plane arrays and systems. In this context, "uncooled" refers to not employing artificial means of reducing the temperature of the infrared array, such as by means of cryogenic solids or liquids, mechanical refrigerators, thermoelectric coolers, or Joule-Thomson coolers. The infrared array operates at the ambient temperature, whatever that might be. If unstated, the temperature is assumed to be "room temperature," generally considered to be 295 K or 300 K. Some detection mechanisms require the use of temperature stabilizers upon which are mounted the thermal imaging arrays. Although their construction is similar to that of thermoelectric coolers, they maintain the array at or very near room temperature; thus they are not considered to be coolers. The term "thermal imaging" refers to the ability of the array in its system to image room temperature scenes. Here again, âroom temperatureâ implies 295 K or 300 K. A thermal image of a scene refers to an image of that scene made entirely by detecting the thermal (infrared) radiation emitted by everything in the scene. Thus there is no use of artificial (lamps, lasers) or natural (sunlight, moonlight, starlight, airglow) illumination of the scene. Because âroom temperatureâ radiation has its spectral peak emittance at about 10-Î¼m wavelength, this implies that the spectral response of the thermal imaging array extends beyond 3-Î¼m wavelength; such arrays are usually designed to operate in the 3-5-Î¼m or 8-14-Î¼m atmospheric windows.