Design and performance of a high-sensitivity high-resolution thermal video system

A high sensitivity thermal video system has been jointly developed by Cincinnati Electronics Corporation and Nippon Avionics Company, Ltd. (Avio) of Japan, the TVS-8000. The system utilizes an Indium Antimonide staring focal plane array sensor, cooled by a Stirling cryocooler. The sensor/cooler assembly is connected to a separate video processor, display, and electronics assembly. The TVS-8000 product series offers the performance advantages of combining a high sensitivity focal plane array sensor with all of the advanced features and quality of an Avio Thermal Video System (TVS) processor. This unique system offers the user a wide variety of options for real time display, analysis, and recording of thermal scenes. The design, performance, and special features of the TVS-8000 Thermal Video System will be discussed.