• Best suited for sample areas >1cm² in size, smaller samples should be assessed independently.
• Samples requiring fine probing are not well suited for this analysis – to see if your sample would be a good fit, please contact us

Near-infrared imaging works similarly to a standard optical camera/imaging sensor, but utilizes a unique solid state Peltier-cooled detector designed to detect light in the 900-1700nm wavelength range (just outside of the visible spectrum). Interestingly, most digital photography cameras today are actually able to detect NIR light and require specialized filters to ensure that only visible light is captured.

As brightness is perceived by standard optical cameras, NIR cameras too correlate the intensity of photon signals across a target wavelength range and interpolate this information for each pixel in an array covering the subject field of view.

Because NIR radiation is scattered and absorbed differently than visible light, NIR images can sometimes be clearer and more detailed than conventional photographs, capturing subjects obscured by overlayers of IR-transmissive materials.

When imaging high-temperature systems, NIR systems detect shorter wavelength than infrared thermographic imaging (IRT), and therefore can see regions with temperatures beyond what is perceptible to the IR system. Electromagnetic radiation is emitted by all objects with a temperature above absolute zero (-273.15 °C); objects with higher temperatures produce more radiation with shorter peak emission wavelengths. At very high temperatures, the wavelengths in a system become too narrow for conventional IR thermography, requiring NIR for characterization.