Unfilmed and Unequalled: The Power of L3Harris Night-Vision Tube Technology

There are several factors that position Gen III tubes – and more specifically, unfilmed Gen III tubes – well above other options in the market. For instance, the gallium arsenide photocathode significantly enhances low-light sensitivity, providing the higher gain needed to covertly operate in ultra-dark conditions without active illumination.

The advantage of unfilmed tubes starts at the microchannel plate. The elimination of the input ion barrier film greatly increases durability while reducing risk of shock damage and decreasing halo size. This, combined with the higher-performing Gen III photocathode and the ultra-fine microchannel plate leads to a higher signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in clearer and more detailed images.

There are many interlocking factors that contribute to longer operations life in Gen III night vision goggles, beginning with the ion barrier film. L3Harris’ advanced technology eliminates it completely, while simultaneously extending gain life by years. Other contributors to extended operational life are thermal management, auto-gating and advanced manufacturing techniques.

“Only Gen III tubes from L3Harris – designed to the most advanced requirements and manufactured to the most stringent conditions in the industry – provide the necessary tactical advantage in the darkest real-world environments,” said Rowley. “They have been proven to deliver reliable performance for over 20,000 hours of useful life, especially in the mixed-light urban locations that often define today’s battlespace.”

Why L3Harris

There is only a certain amount of light any tube can be exposed to before it degrades. L3Harris tubes are lab-proven to be able to withstand higher volumes of light for far longer due to the combined use of gallium arsenide photocathode material, improved tube manufacturing processes and better internal tube components, according to Burnsed.

The advantages of unfilmed tubes also deliver extreme shock resistance when compared to filmed Gen III tubes. L3Harris unfilmed tubes are the most robust and rugged choice for tough, real-world conditions, because there is no ion barrier film that could touch the photocathode when the microchannel plate flexes during shock load, destroying the tube.

“L3Harris has developed and patented technology to suppress halo effects due to bright light sources, effectively sharpening the image by reducing the ‘smearing’ effect on bright/dark boundaries in the scene,” said Burnsed. “We have also developed a superior process to eliminate reduced gain life when delivering increased tube brightness. This means the user no longer has to choose between performance and reliability.”

L3Harris unfilmed tubes can operate at a gain over 100,000, roughly double the industry standard, while remaining the most stable image intensifier tubes available, added Rowley.

L3Harris tests Gen III reliability using the U.S. government’s required military specification accelerated reliability testing method. Through this methodology, the company estimates its tubes can last for at least 10 years or 10,000 hours of service life without degradation.