The laboratory evaluation of thermal imaging systems

This paper describes the method which is used at RAE Farnborough, to carry out laboratory evaluations of thermal imaging systems. The major performance parameters which are measured are Minimum Resolvable Temperature Difference (MRTD), Minimum Detectable Temperature Difference (MDTD), Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), and Signal Transfer Function (SiTF). The reasons for choosing these parameters are discussed, and a description is given of the apparatus and the techniques which are used for the measurements.