MEASURE OF THE INFLUENCE OF DETECTOR NOISE ON TEMPERATURE-MEASUREMENTACCURACY FOR MULTIBAND INFRARED SYSTEMS

The noise-equivalent temperature difference is a measure of the detect or-noise-limited sensitivity of single-band IR systems for noncontact temperature measurement. However, because its definition is based on t he signal-to-noise ratio in a single detector channel, the notion of n oise-equivalent temperature difference must be generalized in case of dual-band or multiband IR systems. A new measure of temperature-measur ement sensitivity is proposed that can be used to describe single-band , dual-band, and multiband IR measurement systems. With this measure a comparison of temperature-measurement accuracy among single-band, dua l-band, and multiband systems was carried out. (C) 1998 Optical Societ y of America.