ABSTRACT

Thermal imaging camera and the Infrared

Thermometer are sensors that have
revolutionized the field of temperature
measurement

MUHAMMAD UMAR IQTIDAR

AHMT

DIGITAL THERMAL
MEASUREMENT
  THERMAL MEASUREMENT
The concept of temperature measurement from the IR dates back to 1800 and the gross
experimentation based on this concept in utilization of IR in optical devices dates back
to mid-20th century. Finally the thermal imaging camera was invented and unlike the
photography thermography i.e the image taken using the Thermal camera utilizes
infrared radiations rather than the visible white light for its working. Thermal imagining
has revolutionized many fields including warfare and research
 INFRARED RADIATION
Infrared spectrum is the region of electromagnetic spectrum that ranges from 0.7
microns to 350 microns.as show in the figure below.

Figure 1 the electromagnetic Spectrum

The infrared region is divided into 3 types I.e Near, mid and Far

 The near-infrared spectral region (also called IR-A) ranges from ≈ 700 to
1400 nm
  Mid infrared region
o The short-wavelength infrared (SWIR, IR-B) extends from 1.4 to 3 μm.
o The mid-infrared (mid-wavelength infrared, MWIR, IR-C) ranges from 3 to
8 μm.
o The long-wavelength infrared (LWIR, IR-C) ranges from 8 to 15 μm, . This
spectral region is used for thermal imaging.

 Far infrared (FIR),

These ranges to 1 mm and is sometimes understood to start at 8 μm
already.
The infrared is usually produced by Energy emitting due to stimulation of
electrons. It is also received by sun but most of it is absorbed before
reaching the surface. Leasers are the primary sources of manmade infrared
radiations. Any material object emits electromagnetic radiation in the IR
spectrum till absolute zero but the limitation of equipment come into play.

 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The temperature measurement though radiation is subject of matter of this documents

so following equations govern the system.

 Kirchhoff’s Law When an object is at thermal equilibrium, the amount of

absorption will equal the amount of emission.
 Stephan Boltzmann Law The hotter an object becomes the more infrared
energy it emits.
 Wien's Displacement Law the wavelength at which the maximum amount of
energy is emitted becomes shorter as the temperature increases.
 Planck's Equation describes the relationship between spectral emissivity,
temperature and radiant energy.

 THE INFRARED RADIATION DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

The working of Thermal imaging camera is just like a normal camera i.e. the
reflected light is captured through a mirror called lenses and then the image is
processed chemically or electronically but in case of thermal imaging the lenses
are not normal glass lenses rather they are made of a semiconductor germanium
to aid infrared capture furthermore this captured light is focused to the I.R detector
which converts I.R in to heat then data points are created based on these values
via electrical impulse generated by the detector itself . The collection of these
points is called thermogram then these thermograms are translated to pictures or
Temperature measurements by microprocessors. Ability of this detector to create
data points is one of the factor governing the ability of these devices to detect
minute temperature difference the temperature difference minimum temperature
and maximum temperature that can be detected.

The data points created in this process depends on the surrounding as well as the
objects. Emissivity of the measured material is very important factor for effective
measurement.

 THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA

If the Thermogram is processed as an Image it is known as the

Figure 2 the working mechanism of infrared camera and the infrared camera

thermal camera. The camera creates a monochrome picture. These images

can be black and white, orange and red and in many other colors. These
images are called false images

The cameras have two type’s i.e. active cameras and passive cameras.

Active cameras: warm the target object to get good results especially if
the temperature differential of the system and surrounding is minute

Passive cameras: Use the existing IR to measure the temperature.

 INFRARED THERMOMETER If the Thermogram is converted to temperature

measurement it becomes a thermometer, in these the sensor thermopile is
 used. Now a days Array thermopiles are

Figure 3 Working mechanism of Infrared thermometer

Used for more reliable measurements both the equipments are shown in the figures

Figure 4 infrared thermometer

 APPLICATIONS
Infrared Imaging and thermometry find its application in many field due to the temperature
measurement to no-contact based measurement. It finds the correct usage in electrical
and mechanical maintenance. Pipeline industry, medical practice and research, security
and warfare.

 CONCLUSION
Thermal imaging camera and the Infrared thermometer are sensors not optical devices.
The optical detection is the secondary function of these products. The accuracy of these
equipments are based on the sensitivity of the detector and the signal processor followed
by the measuring techniques.