Any uncooled MWIR cameras?

[Ben321]

There are uncooled LWIR and SWIR cameras, as well as cooled LWIR, MWIR, and SWIR cameras. But I've never heard of an uncooled MWIR camera. They ALL seem to use a sterling mechanical cooler. Why is this? What is special about MWIR cameras that makes it so they can't be operated in an uncooled mode? And if it is actually possible, are you aware of any MWIR cameras that do so?

[Spirit532]

Google.
https://www.niteurope.com/en/tachyon-16k-fpa/
https://visimid-technologies.myshopify.com/products/phoenix-uncooled-mwir-core

[Ben321]

Google.
https://www.niteurope.com/en/tachyon-16k-fpa/
https://visimid-technologies.myshopify.com/products/phoenix-uncooled-mwir-core

Very impressive. Any cameras that actually use this chip though?

Nevermind. I see that their website also has cameras that use their chip.

[Max Planck]

They were at least 4 microbolometer FPAs manufacturers that modified their products by changing the transmission window and offered them as MWIR/LWIR.
There is just one but. The target temperature has to be above 100 degC if one wants to operate such camera solely as MWIR and get decent results. Not enough energy at room temperature in the MWIR band.

Max

[Ben321]

They were at least 4 microbolometer FPAs manufacturers that modified their products by changing the transmission window and offered them as MWIR/LWIR.
There is just one but. The target temperature has to be above 100 degC if one wants to operate such camera solely as MWIR and get decent results. Not enough energy at room temperature in the MWIR band.

Max

I've seen several MWIR camera images that show even a person showing up in an MWIR thermal image. The human body is not above 100degC.

[Max Planck]

My question would be if your picture was realy coming from a MWIR system or a MWIR/LWIR one and what would be the result of comparison - in the same conditions - between MWIR and LWIR microbolometer uncooled camera when it comes to imaging a target having a temperature close to ambient, let's say a human body.
Answering those questions would help to explain why there is plenty of LWIR uncooled systems and pratically no MWIR. The only situation where uncooled MWIR makes sense are high temperature scenarios.
By the way, the Tachyon core mentioned before, in some datasheets there was a clear information about the minimum temperature of detection, given as 100 ºC.

Max

[Bill W]

I've seen several MWIR camera images that show even a person showing up in an MWIR thermal image. The human body is not above 100degC.

Those would be MWIR images from cooled MWIR detectors with NeTD typically of 20mK for ambient objects.  All on an f/4 lens too.

Bill