Nonuniformity correction and thermal drift compensation of thermal infrared camera

In the last decade, a technology of thermal imagers was developing on the basis of new infrared detectors, as well for civil and military uses. These imagers implement miniaturised infrared detectors laid out in a matrix placed in the optical focal plane of the imager. The technology of the FPA associates the detector matrix to specific electronics allowing detection and addressing on each pixel. This technology allowed a fast improvement of the performance of the thermal imager. Nevertheless, their use in thermography measurement requires some metrological care. The principal problem is both the uniformization of the pixel’s response and the temporal stability of this uniformization. The second problem consists in the compensation of the thermal drift. In this paper, we present some practical solutions developed by CEDIP infrared systems to perform non uniformity and thermal drift corrections. Performance and limits are reviewed.