Infrared Thermography:

the defense applications

Abstract

Thermographic imagery technology applied to search and identification of infrared radiation signatures is an area which follows in a high development. The technology has two application fields: military and civilian. Both of them use the same sensors and data processing. In the civilian area this technology is used in agriculture, environmental control, health and others. The military area uses the same technology in the Defense systems like as air-air, surfaceair and air-surface missile seekers, biological and chemical warning systems and night vision. Research and development of cryogenic and no-criogenic infrared sensors give to the countries a know-how to make an advanced and superiority missile. This technology is not sold and therefore if someone wants to have the same technology needs to reinforce the technological and industrial areas. The production of sensors in the semiconductor detector form is already a known technology and it is available in some research labs form Brazilian Research Institutes or Universities. The great challenge is to transform those semiconductor detector in final components for assemblies that will be used under severe environmental conditions. The aim of this paper is to show the theoretical bases on the IR detection, the more widely used sensor types and the evolution brought with the use of new detection devices and IR cameras for detection and identification of targets that emit infrared energy.