IR brightener / infrared brightener

IR brightener / infrared brightener

The following applies to the use of infrared heaters in connection with night vision devices:

To understand how an IR illuminator works, you first have to know how a night vision device works as a light amplifier. That is the requirement. The basic rule is: without light – no picture!

No XD-4, XR-5 or even 3rd generation will help, only an IR emitter!
In order to “see” in the dark, additional infrared lighting is used. These emitters generate a beam of light in the infrared, invisible light range of 800-900 nanometers depending on the version. And now comes the problem.

A 150 mW emitter with an infrared range of 870 nm does not produce as good an image as a 75 mW emitter with 805 nm, according to one customer. A device with a GEN2+ US tube was used.

How can this be explained:
Very easily. Each night vision device is equipped with an infrared-sensitive tube that is sensitive to infrared in a precisely defined range. Infrared radiation can only be amplified within these limits. Using the manufacturer's data sheet for the tube, you can see in which area the tube works best and can then select a suitable IR emitter.

Note: every tube type is different. There are also large differences in sensitivity between and within the different generations. Since the different generations of night vision devices also have different working ranges within the electromagnetic wave spectrum, an additional IR illuminator should always correspond to the wavelength of the respective generation of the night vision device.

Especially with the 1st generation with its focus in the near visible range (around 780 nm), an IR emitter designed for subsequent generations (from GEN2) would be less effective. An IR radiator for the 1st generation can therefore still be seen glowing dark red with the naked eye, which is no longer the case with other radiators with a longer wavelength from 875 nm.

Second generation tubes mainly work in the wavelength range between 2 and 780 nm. DEP's XD-880™ tube operates in the 4 nm – 400 nm range.
A Gen III GaAs tube in the range of 550 – 930 nm.

Basically; the higher the wavelength, the lower the visibility of the laser beam, but this also means that the light output for the night vision device is lower and you cannot see as far.

Higher wavelengths reduce the visibility of the emitter ("red glow"), but reduce the light output with which the night vision device can work.

For you as a customer, this means – the proof of the pudding is in the eating!