Chapter 19Infrared and Ultraviolet Systems

In terms of lens design techniques, there is little difference between design for the visual region and design for the infrared (IR), or design for the ultraviolet (UV). The biggest difference is in the optical materials used in each region. Optical quality materials that transmit in the IR are few; those that transmit in the UV are rare.

One other factor crops up in the IR. Everything at a temperature above zero K (−273°C) emits electromagnetic radiation. Ordinarily we think of sources at high temperature that emit well in the visible, and we image objects using the light that is reflected from their surfaces. But even at a low temperature of 300 K (27°C) everything emits radiation; the emission peaks ...

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