Focal plane temperature stability requirements for thermal imaging systems using extrinsic Si:ln detectors

The use of Si:In IR detectors in high performance thermal imaging systems imposes a stringent requirement on the temperature stability of the focal plane. In this paper, we calculate that temperature fluctuations of the focal plane must be kept to less than either 12 mK or 1.2 mK for thermal imaging systems capable of resolving 0.1 degrees C or 0.01 degrees C temperature differences, respectively, in the scene being imaged.