4. Applied Physics

See also Infrared converter

  In the focus of this field is a device that converts images in the infrared to images in the visible. This device  is similar to the dc gas-discharge system being investigated with respect to self-organized pattern. As pointed out by Russian scientists in earlier work (see references in [82]), such systems can be used to capture infrared images, provided the formation of self-organized pattern is suppressed. On this background an image converter has been developed with extraordinary short time resolution. Consequently, fast capturing of infrared images becomes possible, by using fast cameras in the visible, that are not available in the infrared range of electromagnetic radiation.

The set-up of the developed converter is depicted schematically in fig. 2.1. The device operates as an IR to visible image converter in the following manner: Laterally modulated incoming IR intensity generates a lateral modulation of the conductivity of the semiconductor waver that in turn leads to a corresponding electrical current density modulation in the gas- discharge space. Finally the discharge current gives rise to the emission of electromagnetic radiation in the visible that reflects lateral modulation of the incoming IR radiation field. -  For details see [82, 90, 93, 100, 108, 118, 135,138,139,  140, 156, 173, 174]. We also refer to the  the book ‘Semiconductor-Gas-Discharge Device for Fast Imagimg in the infrared’ and the patent ‘Bildkonverter zur Umwandlung des Spektrums eines optischen Bildes‘.

A high light of this work is the fact that a time resolution of the order of 50 ns can be reached.