An Improved-Efficiency Compact Lamp for the Thermal Infrared

• NCJ Number: 249616
• Journal: Applied Spectroscopy Volume: 69 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2015 Pages: 1511-1513
• Author(s): W. L. O'Brien; N. D. Boltin; S. A. DeJong; Z. Y. Lu; B. M. Cassidy; S. J. Hoy; S. L. Morgan; M. L. Myrick
• Date Published: December 2015
• Length: 3 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2011-IJ-CX-K055
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Multimode Imaging in the Thermal Infrared: Validation for Blood, Extension to Latent Prints

Annotation

This article reports the design and properties of an infrared lamp using a heated alumina emitter suitable for active thermal infrared imaging, as well as comparisons to existing commercial light sources for this purpose.

Abstract

A major type of infrared camera is sensitive to wavelengths in the 8-14 ìm band and is mainly used for thermal imaging. Such cameras can also be used for general broadband infrared reflectance imaging when provided with a suitable light source. The current study determined that the alumina lamp is a broadband non-blackbody source with a lower out-of-band emission intensity and therefore higher electrical efficiency for this application than existing commercial sources. (Publisher abstract modified)