Key features of uncooled detectors
IR imaging based on uncooled sensors

The 1 website highlights, whatever the principle used for the thermal detector, the two essential parameters of thermal insulation (or resistance) R_th and heat mass (or capacity) C_th of the assembly consisting of absorber and thermometer. These parameters determine the temperature rise of the absorber and therefore the value of the signal delivered by the thermometer, and the speed of response to a variable infrared flux.

The electro-optical parameters most commonly used to characterize uncooled detectors developed for imaging are NETD (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference), in millikelvins, and response in mV (variation in scene temperature). These...