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Calibrating the Thermal Camera

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As thermal cameras gain ground in the commercial market, testing becomes critical

Dr. David A. Imrie, Optikos Corp.

Thermal imaging, once the domain of the defense sector, is finding applications in a number of commercial and medical fields. As more manufacturers join the thermal camera business, the need to test these devices to recognized standards is becoming increasingly important. After all, they can be fairly tricky instruments to design and build. Both cooled and uncooled focal plane arrays are sensitive to manufacturing process variations, and thermal camera bodies and lenses are constructed from materials that emit radiation visible to these instruments. The defense sector knows all too well...Read full article

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    Published: December 2009
    Glossary
    blackbody
    An ideal body that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it and, therefore, appears perfectly black at all wavelengths. The radiation emitted by such a body when heated is referred to as blackbody radiation. A perfect blackbody has an emissivity of unity.
    collimation
    1. The process of aligning the optical axes of optical systems to the reference mechanical axes or surfaces of an instrument. 2. The adjustment of two or more optical axes with respect to each other. 3. The process by which a divergent beam of radiation or particles is converted into a parallel beam.
    emissivity
    The ratio of an object's radiance to that emitted by a blackbody radiator at the same temperature and at the same wavelength.
    field of view
    The field of view (FOV) refers to the extent of the observable world or the visible area that can be seen at any given moment through a device, such as an optical instrument, camera, or sensor. It is the angular or spatial extent of the observable environment as seen from a specific vantage point or through a particular instrument. Key points about the field of view include: Angular measurement: The field of view is often expressed in angular units, such as degrees, minutes, or radians. It...
    flux
    Time rate of flow of energy; the radiant or luminous power in a beam.
    focal length
    The focal length of a lens is the distance between the lens's optical center (or principal point) and the image sensor or film when the lens is focused at infinity. In simple terms, it is the distance from the lens to the point where parallel rays of light converge or appear to diverge after passing through the lens. For converging lenses (convex lenses), which are thicker in the center, the focal length is considered positive. For diverging lenses (concave lenses), which are thinner in the...
    infrared
    Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but shorter than those of microwaves. The infrared spectrum spans wavelengths roughly between 700 nanometers (nm) and 1 millimeter (mm). It is divided into three main subcategories: Near-infrared (NIR): Wavelengths from approximately 700 nm to 1.4 micrometers (µm). Near-infrared light is often used in telecommunications, as well as in various imaging and sensing...
    modulation transfer function
    Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the modulation in the image to the modulation in the object as a function of frequency (cycles per unit length) of the sinusoidal wave pattern that describes both the object and image. A plot of the MTF against frequency is an almost universal measure of the performance of an image-forming optical system as it provides a measurement of the ability of an optical system to reproduce...
    radiometry
    The science of radiation measurement. The detection and measurement of radiant energy, either as separate wavelengths or integrated over a broad wavelength band, and the interaction of radiation with matter in such ways as absorption, reflectance and emission.
    thermal imaging
    The process of producing a visible two-dimensional image of a scene that is dependent on differences in thermal or infrared radiation from the scene reaching the aperture of the imaging device.
    aperturesblackbodycamerasCoatingscollimationconjugatedefensedefense industryemissivityFeaturesField of Viewfluxfocal lengthfocal plane arraysImagingindustrialinfraredisothermallaser tracer beamlensesmillikelvinmirrorsmodulation transfer functionOptikosplatinumpyrometryradiometricradiometrySensors & Detectorsspectral absorptiontemperaturethermal contrastthermal imagingthermodynamicthermometersUSB

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