| The Night Vision Store & The OpticstoreDuring | | | | there are generations that reflect the level |
| the history of warfare, operations at night | | | | of technology used. The higher the |
| have always been degraded significantly, if | | | | generation, the more sophisticated the night |
| not totally avoided. Typically, soldiers | | | | vision technology.Generation 0 - The earliest |
| fighting at night have had to resort to | | | | (1950's) night vision products were based on |
| artificial illumination, e.g., at first fire | | | | image conversion, rather than |
| and later with light sources such as | | | | intensification. They required a source of |
| searchlights. The use of light sources on | | | | invisible infrared (IR) light mounted on or |
| the battlefield had the detrimental result of | | | | near the device to illuminate the target |
| giving away tactical positions and | | | | area.Generation 1 - The "starlight scopes" of |
| information about maneuvers. The advent of | | | | the 1960's (Vietnam Era) have three image |
| new technologies initially in the 1950's and | | | | intensifier tubes connected in a series. |
| continuing into the present time has changed | | | | These systems are larger and heavier than Gen |
| this situation. The engineers and scientists | | | | 2 and Gen 3. The Gen 1 image is clear at the |
| at the Night Vision & Electronic Sensors | | | | center but may be distorted around the edges. |
| Directorate (NVESD) have discovered ways to | | | | (Low-cost Gen 1 imports are often mislabeled |
| capture available electro-magnetic radiation | | | | as a higher generation.Generation 2 - The |
| outside that portion of the spectrum visible | | | | microchannel plate (MCP) electron multiplier |
| to the human eye and have developed equipment | | | | prompted Gen 2 development in the 1970s. The |
| to enable the American soldier to fight as | | | | "gain" provided by the MCP eliminated the |
| well at night as during the day in order to | | | | need for back-to-back tubes - thereby |
| "Own the Night".Image Intensification: Image | | | | improving size and image quality. The MCP |
| intensifiers capture ambient light and | | | | enabled development of hand held and helmet |
| amplify it thousands of times by electronic | | | | mounted goggles.Generation 3 - Two major |
| means to display the battlefield to a soldier | | | | advancements characterized development of Gen |
| via a phosphor display such as night vision | | | | 3 in the late 1970s and early 1980s: the |
| goggles. This ambient light comes from the | | | | gallium arsenide (GaAs) photocathode and the |
| stars, moon or sky glow from distant manmade | | | | ion-barrier film on the MCP. The GaAs |
| sources, such as cities. A soldier can | | | | photocathode enabled detection of objects at |
| conduct his combat missions without any | | | | greater distances under much darker |
| active illumination sources using only image | | | | conditions. The ion-barrier film increased |
| intensifiers. The main advantages of image | | | | the operational life of the tube from 2000 |
| intensifiers as night vision devices are | | | | hours (Gen 2) to 10,000 (Gen 3), as |
| their small size, light weight, low power | | | | demonstrated by actual testing and not |
| requirements and low cost. These attributes | | | | extrapolation.Thermal Imaging:Most objects in |
| have enabled image intensifier goggles for | | | | natural scenes, as well as human beings and |
| head-worn, individual soldier applications | | | | manmade objects emit electro-magnetic |
| and resulted in hundreds of thousands of | | | | radiation in the form of heat. Thermal |
| night vision goggles to be procured by the US | | | | imagers or infrared viewers (also known as |
| Army. Research and development continues | | | | FLIRs) gather the infrared radiation and form |
| today on image intensifiers in the areas of | | | | an electronic image for the soldier. Since |
| longer wavelength spectral response, higher | | | | they do not rely on reflected ambient light, |
| sensitivity, larger fields of view, increased | | | | thermal imagers are totally light-level |
| resolution, advanced displays and image | | | | independent. They also have significant |
| fusion.Night Vision technology consists of | | | | penetration capabilities through obscurants |
| two major types: image intensification (light | | | | such as fogs, hazes, and conventional |
| amplification) and thermal imaging | | | | battlefield smokes. There are two varieties |
| (infrared). Most consumer night vision | | | | of thermal imaging systems: cooled and |
| products are light amplifying devices.Light | | | | uncooled. Cooled thermal imaging requires |
| amplification technology takes the small | | | | cryogenic cooling. Lower performing uncooled |
| amount of light, such as moonlight or | | | | thermal imaging systems require no detector |
| starlight, that is in the surrounding area, | | | | cooling but have sufficient performance to |
| and converts the light energy (scientists | | | | provide the low to medium performance |
| call it photons), into electrical energy | | | | required by individual soldier sights, |
| (electrons). These electrons pass through a | | | | infantry vehicles, navigation, robotics and |
| thin disk that's about the size of a quarter | | | | missile seekers. Present research and |
| and contains over 10 million channels. As the | | | | development in cooled thermal imaging are |
| electrons travel through and strike the walls | | | | pursuing multi-spectral imaging, improved |
| of the channels, thousands more electrons are | | | | sensitivity and resolution, and embedded |
| released. These multiplied electrons then | | | | signal processing to aid the soldier in |
| bounce off of a phosphor screen which | | | | target acquisition missions. Current |
| converts the electrons back into photons and | | | | uncooled research is directed at smaller size |
| let you see an impressive nighttime view even | | | | packages and power consumption with lower |
| when it's really dark. All image intensified | | | | cost and increased sensitivity, resolution |
| night vision products on the market today | | | | and field of view. Small, palm-sized |
| have one thing in common: they produce a | | | | uncooled thermal imagers are now available. |
| green output image. In the night vision world | | | | |