Nonuniformity correction of infrared images based on infrared radiation and working time of thermal imager

Abstract The spatial fixed-pattern noise (FPN) reduces the quality of the infrared image seriously, even makes infrared images inappropriate for some applications. In order to lower the FPN, some critical nonuniformity correction (NUC) algorithms such as NUC based on linear model, scene-based NUC and so on have been developed. But the algorithms have some drawbacks: restricted application in small dynamic range of objects temperature, low performance under the drift with the working time and complex calculations. In these cases, we develop a bivariate and quadratic model (bivariate is radiation and working time) of the FPA and the NUC technique based on the model. The proposed method is a true reflection of the infrared response and is a good solution for hardware implementation. It overcomes the drawbacks of the critical algorithm mentioned above. The last simulations and experiments show that the proposed algorithm exhibits a superior correction effect in both large objects temperature range and long working time of the thermal imager.