NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY

BY
 INTRODUCTION
It allows one to see in the dark.

Originallydeveloped for military use, has provided

UNITED STATES with a strategic military advantage
whose value can be measured in life's.

Night vision equipment has evolved from bulky

optical instruments in lightweight goggles through
the advancement of image intensification technology.
 Two different ways:
IMAGE ENHANCEMENT: This works by
collecting the tiny amounts of light,
including the lower portion of the infrared
light spectrum, that are present but may be
imperceptible to our eyes, and amplifying it
to the point that we can easily observe the
image.
THERMAL IMAGING : This
technology operates by capturing the
upper portion of the infrared light
spectrum, which is emitted as heat by
objects instead of simply reflected as
light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies,
emit more of this light than cooler objects
like trees or buildings.
Infrared light: In order to understand night
vision, it is important to understand something about
light.

 The amount of energy in a light wave is related to its

wavelength: Shorter wavelengths have higher energy.
Of visible light, violet has the most energy, and red has
the least. Just next to the visible light spectrum is the
infrared spectrum.
 HOW THERMAL IMAGING WORKS:
Special lens focuses Focused light is
the infrared light scanned by a phased
emitted by all of the array of infrared-
objects in view detector

The detector elements

create a very detailed
temperature pattern
called a thermo gram

The thermo gram created

Impulses are sent to a signal-
by the detector elements
processing unit ,that translates the
is translated into electric information from the elements into
impulses. data for the display.

It appears as various colors

depending on the intensity of the
nfrared emission. The combination
The basic
compone-
nts of a
thermal-
imaging
system
TYPES OF THERMAL IMAGING DEVICES

Un-cooled
Cryogenically cooled

It is quite easy to see everything ...but at night, you can see

during the day... very little.

Thermal imaging lets you see again.

 Image Enhancement:-
Image-enhancement technology is what most people think
of when you talk about night vision. In fact, image-enhancement
systems are normally called night-vision devices (NVDs).
NVDs rely on a special tube, called an image-intensifier tube,
to collect and amplify infrared and visible light.
 How Image Enhancement Works:
A conventional
 lens, called the objective lens, captures ambient light and
some near- infrared light.

The
 gathered light is sent to the image-intensifier tube. In most NVDs, the power
supply for the image-intensifier tube receives power from two N-Cell or two
"AA" batteries. The tube outputs a high voltage, about 5,000 volts, to the image-
tube components.

The
 image-intensifier tube has a photocathode, which is used to convert the
photons of light energy into electrons.

As
 the electrons pass through the tube, similar electrons are released from atoms
in the tube, multiplying the original number of electrons by a factor of
thousands
through the use of a micro channel plate (MCP) in the tube. An MCP is a tiny
glass disc that has millions of microscopic holes micro channels in it, made
using
fiber-optic technology.
When the electrons from the photo cathode hit the first
electrode of the MCP, they cause thousands of other
electrons to be released in each channel using a process
called cascaded secondary emission. Basically, the
original electrons collide with the side of the channel,
exciting atoms and causing other
electrons to be released.

An interesting fact is that the micro

channels in the MCP are created at a Night-vision images are known
for their eerie green
tint.
slight angle (about a 5-degree to
8-degree bias) to encourage electron
collisions and reduce both ion and direct-light feedback from the
phosphors on the output side.

These phosphors create the green image on the screen that

KEY GENERATION DEVELOPMENTS
• GENERATION 1 (Developed in 1960's);
o Vacuum Tube Technology
o Full Moon Operation
o Amplification: 1,000
o Operating Life: 2,000 Hours
 
• GENERATION 2 (Developed in 1970's);
o First Micro channel Plate (MCP) Application
o One-Quarter Moon Operation
o Amplification: 20,000
o Operating Life: 2,500 Hours
 
• GENERATION 2+ (1970s)
o Development increased image tube bias voltage to improve gain.
o Additionally, a glass faceplate was added to improve resolution.
 
• GENERATION 3 (Developed in 1990's);
o Improved MCP & Photocathode
o Starlight Operation
o Amplification: 40,000
o Operating Life: 10,000 Hour
 
• GENERATION 4 Enhanced (2000's);
o Improvements in the photocathode and MCP resulted in increased gain and resolution.
 Performance Attributes
Sensitivity, or photo response, is the image tube's ability to
detect available light. It is usually measured in uA/lm," or
microamperes per lumen. ITT's advanced technology and processing enable
us to give our customers products with outstanding sensitivity.

Signal plays a key role in night vision performance. ITT's micro channel
plate technology is unsurpassed in its ability to transfer a strong signal from
input to output. Just as high-end stereo equipment gives you quality sound,
ITT Night Vision gives you a quality output image without "noise.“

Resolution is the third major consideration when purchasing night

vision. This is the ability to resolve detail in your image. High-quality
optics and the latest processing methods give ITT Night Vision the edge.
 We are the world's leader for Gen 3 image intensified (amplified) night
vision products for the U.S. military.
Technical Characteristics of Night Vision

 Textures,Light and Dark

 Depth Perception
 Fog and Rain
 Honeycomb
 Black Spots
NIGHT-VISION EQUIPMENT
 Scopes - Normally handheld or mounted on a
weapon, scopes are monocular (one eye-piece).

 Goggles - While goggles can be handheld,

they are most often worn on the head. Goggles
are binocular(two eye-pieces) and may have a single lens
or stereo lens, depending on the model.

 Cameras - Cameras with night-vision

technology can send the image to a monitor for
display or to a VCR for recording..
CHARACTERISTIC OF NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY

 Automatic Brightness Control (ABC)

 Auto-Gated Power Supply
 Black Spots
 Binocular
 Blooming
 Bright-Source Protection (BSP) - High-Light Cut-Off
 Bore sighting
 C-Mount
 COMSPEC (Commercial Specification)
 Chicken Wire
 Daylight Lens Cover
 Daylight Training Filter
 Diopter
 Distortion
 Equivalent Background Illumination (EBI)
 Emission Point
 Eye Relief
 Field-of-View
 Figure of Merit (FOM)
 Fixed-Pattern Noise (FPN)
 Footlambert (fL)
 Gain
 Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)
 Highlight Shutoff
 Interpupillary Adjustment
 Interpupillary Distance
 IR Illuminator
 IR Laser
 I2 (Image Intensification)
 IR (Infrared)
 Ip/mm
 Lumen
 Monocular
 Nato- Stanag
 mA/W (Milliamps per Watt)
 MCP (Microchannel Plate)
 Near-Infrared
 Photocathode
 Photocathode Sensitivity
 Resolution
 Reticle (Reticle Pattern)
 Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
 Scintillation
 Screen
 Stereoscopic Night Vision
 System Gain
 Variable Gain Control
 Weaver Mounting System
 Zeroing
APPLICATIONS
Military


Law
 enforcement 

Hunting
  

Wildlife observation  

Surveillance 


Security 
 This soldier is using DARK invader
night vision goggles

Navigation


Hidden-object
 detection

Entertainment

Thank
You…