IR illuminator: Redbeam IRN40 (940nm, 45deg)

View of the illuminator

Gold Medal of Securex for Redbeam IR illuminators

Readbeam IRN40 is a modern IR illuminator designed for outdoor applications. Its IR LED array provides IR light beam of 940 nm wavelength, with half-power beam width of 22^o (total operational angle: 45^o), over a maximum distance of 40 m. Infrared radiation at this wavelength is completely invisible to the human eye.

IR illuminators of Redbeam series are modern devices for providing homogeneous IR light in the monitored area in order to enable CCTV cameras to capture images in low-light or no-light environments. The advantage of the series is application of a specially designed LED array (instead of a conventional set of diodes) which, together with optical lens/es, ensures desired operational angle and distance.

View of the optical part of IRN40 M1649 illuminator

To effectively use an infrared illuminator operating at 940 nm, the camera must be sensitive to radiation at this wavelength. The examples are cameras based on Sony Exview image sensors. As can be seen in the chart below, the sensitivity of such sensors in infrared spectrum is much higher than conventional ones, especially around 950 nm. For best results in a 24-hour cycle, the camera should be equipped with a mechanical IR cut filter (ICR).

Graph showing the dependence of sensitivity from the wavelength for Exview and a typical image sensor

In addition to the appropriate camera sensor, the lens should have IR correction. We highly recommend such lenses from https://www.dipolnet.com/tokina,search-4344">Tokina.

A typical IR LED provides output power between 5 mW and 15 mW, so, even in the case of short operational distance, an IR illuminator has to employ at least several such diodes. The Redbeam IRN40 illuminator provides 2400 mW. This means a much longer range, in spite of the small size of the device.

Comparison of IR illuminators with similar output power

The array of small size makes it easy to shape the beam with lenses. In the case of a traditional IR LED illuminator, the angle of the beam depends on the arrangement of LEDs, which is not a flexible solution. Using this LED array, virtually any angle can be achieved. The examples are the dome models M1642 and M1643, with beams of 180^o.

Another advantage of the arrays is the lifetime of the materials used. Standard heavy-duty IR diodes operate around 6000 hours. In the case of the arrays, the expected lifetime is about 50000 hours. It means that they can work for over 10 years (12/24 cycle)!

The water-tight casing is made of aluminum. To prevent overheating, the body is formed as a radiator. The light beam is shaped by a lens system.

The illuminator should be mounted on a camera bracket (using one of the two 1/4" holes), or directly screwed to an outdoor housing, using M9950 screw (the distance between holes is 22 mm).

Our offer includes another IR illuminator operating at 940 nm, for distances up to 60 m ( M1653 ), and IR illuminators operating at 850 nm, for distances up to 30 m ( M1640 ) and 90 m ( M1647 ).

There are available cameras with pre-mounted IR illuminator/s: M1130 (one illuminator), M1131 (two illuminators).

Movie showing the advantages of IR illuminator with radiation angle of 180^o in vertical plane
and 360^o in horizontal plane, in comparison with a typical, directional IR illuminator