The best way to maintain the performance of thermal imaging camera hardware, especially the detector and optics, is to use an appropriate alignment process. In this context, we highlight the two main reasons why we need to consider an automated optical alignment process for thermal imaging cameras:
– Optimum performance of each camera produced
– To produce as many cameras as possible in time (cycle time and yield improvement!)
Another important aspect is the MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) as a performance indicator: the detection performance of the camera can be ensured by achieving the best possible MTF with the given hardware.
The results of our analyses show that new equipment for automated alignment and testing of LWIR cameras is needed to achieve the highest yields and lowest cycle times in mass production.
