As an important factor determining the performance of thermal imaging infrared materials greatly affect the development of infrared technology. High-performance infrared materials can better speed up the development and application of thermal imaging lenses in various fields. The common materials mainly include chalcogenide glass, germanium, ZnS, ZnSe, Si etc. chalcogenide glass has attracted the most attention and recognition in the industry due to its unique comprehensive advantages among them.
- Excellent optical properties
Optical athermalized is the most popular design for applications with a wide temperature range such as security, automotive etc. Chalcogenide glass is regarded as the preferred material for this design due to its advantages of lowest thermo-optical coefficients and multiple types, which can not only match a lot of reasonable optical structures, but also achieve better optical athermalization performance.
- Diversified processing methods
Chalcogenide glass is an amorphous material with a low softening temperature. In that case, it is not only suitable for polishing and diamond turning, but also for molding which can meet all kinds of mass production needs. It brings high efficiency and cost advantages.
- Stable supply of raw materials
As a traditional infrared material, Germanium is a scarce material due to its limited reserve and high mining cost. Chalcogenide glass gets popular in the market and has gradually replaced germanium in some applications, since it is rich in raw materials for stable supply.
Although chalcogenide glass has the irreplaceable advantages of other infrared materials, it puts forward higher requirements for processing and coating since its mechanical strength is not so good and thermal expansion coefficient is large. So it has relatively high industry technical barriers.