Cal Sensors developed a new infrared emitter that features a high output power and can be both pulsed and cw operated. Because of its low price, this emitter presents a real alternative to the still commonly used halogen lamps.
Cal Sensors developed a special ultra-thin metallic foil filament for this emitter, with 0.88 emissivity and near black body emission. At ~2.5 cm from the filament, the output power of the SF220-5(M) emitter is 4 x 10-2 W/cm². Thus, its power is more than 30% higher than the output of traditional halogen lamps. This emitter was designed to withstand a maximum filament temperature of 1000 K for wavelengths of >2.9 µm.
The SF220-5(M) can be pulsed at frequencies of up to 10 Hz with a modulation depth of 50% and is thus ideal for use with pyroelectric detectors, for example. It is also possible to operate this emitter continuously.
Packaged in a TO5 housing, this emitter is, due to its properties, suited to a number of different detectors. Applications include instruments used in process control, sorting of plastics, and industrial and medical gas analysers.
