Aliasing effects in thermal images of four-bar patterns below and above the Nyquist limit

A new virtual thermal image-processing model is introduced in this paper. This visualization program is based on earlier modeling work focused on predicting the minimum resolvable temperature difference (MRTD), which is a standard performance measure for forward looking infrared radar (FLIR) imaging systems. Relevant filtering, noise and sampling processes are included in the visualization model. In this paper it will be demonstrated and explained that aliasing effects in thermal images of four-bar patterns cannot in general be adequately modeled as noise. In particular, the simulation experiments demonstrate that aliasing can have a noticeable visual enhancing effect at spatial bar frequencies less than the Nyquist limit.