The short-wave infrared band refers to the wavelength range of 1000-3000 nm, which cannot be recognized by naked eyes. Minerals, man-made substances, and other features have special ingredients. The shortwave infrared can "see" this unique component.
Shortwave infrared imaging has a major advantage that is unmatched by other technologies. That is, it can image through glass. For short wave ir camera, special expensive lenses or housings that adapt to harsh environments are almost unnecessary. This allows them to be used in a variety of applications and industries. This capability also allows short wave ir camera to be installed in a protective window. This will provide a lot of flexibility when fixing the camera system on a potential platform.
So, why use SWIR short wave infrared?
The reason is that shortwave infrared has the following advantages:
1) High recognition: SWIR imaging of shortwave infrared is mainly based on the principle of target reflection light imaging. Its imaging features are similar to those of visible light grayscale images, with high imaging contrast and clear expression of target details. In terms of target recognition, SWIR imaging is an important supplement to thermal imaging technology;
2) All-weather adaptation: Short wave infrared SWIR imaging is less affected by atmospheric scattering, so it has a strong ability to penetrate fog, mist, and smoke. Its effective detection distance is long. Its adaptability to climatic conditions and battlefield environment is significantly better than visible light imaging;
3) Low light level night vision: under the condition of atmospheric glow night vision, photon irradiance is mainly distributed in the SWIR band range of 1.0-1.8μm, which makes SWIR night vision imaging have a significant congenital advantage over visible night vision imaging;
4) Covert active imaging: in the 0.9-1.7 μ M band, the military laser source technology is mature (1.06 μ m, 1.55 μ m), which makes short wave infrared InGaAs focal plane imaging has significant comparative advantages in covert active imaging applications;
5) Optical configuration is simple: optically, the glass window has high transmittance in the SWIR band, which gives an important technical advantage to SWIR imaging. This allows short wave ir camera to be assembled in a protective window to achieve highly sensitive imaging. When applied to a specific platform or occasion, this will provide great flexibility.
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