The infrared market is evolving very rapidly. For instance, infrared imaging is one of the fastest growing markets of the Twenty First Century. This is due, in part, to the continuous progress in the detector technology. One way in which this fast-paced evolution is reflected is the constant emergence of new applications.
The infrared applications are usually divided into military and commercial applications. The high performance, low volume, and high cost infrared imaging systems that use cooled infrared technologies are usually found in Military applications. On the other hand, new and existing commercial applications drive the market for uncooled detector technologies, which is the fastest growing segment of the infrared market. . In 2020, world commercial and dual-use infrared imaging markets grew by 29% in revenue[1]. The current major infrared application markets include [1]:
- Thermography
- EST/Fever
- Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) Cameras
- Predictive Maintenance/Condition Monitoring
- Building Inspection
- Process Control/Quality Control
- Nondestructive Testing
- Fire Fighting
- Automotive Night Vision
- Aircraft Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS/EFVS)
- Security/surveillance
- Law Enforcement/Personal Vision Systems
- Consumer (including smartphones)