page_title: Night-vision device
section_title: Generation 3 (GEN III)
hierarchical_section_title: Night-vision device / History / United States / Generation 3 (GEN III)
caption_attribution_description: English: AN/PVS-7 Cyclops 3rd generation goggle. The system is in the final stage of development.
context_page_description: A night-vision device, also known as night optical/observation device and night-vision goggles, is an optoelectronic device that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. The image may be a conversion to visible light of both visible light and near-infrared, while by convention detection of thermal infrared is denoted thermal imaging. The image produced is typically monochrome, e.g. shades of green. NVDs are most often used by the military and law enforcement agencies, but are available to civilian users. The term usually refers to a complete unit, including an image intensifier tube, a protective and generally water-resistant housing, and some type of mounting system. Many NVDs include a protective sacrificial lens, or optical components such as telescopic lenses or mirrors. An NVD may have an IR illuminator, making it an active as opposed to passive night-vision device.
  Night-vision devices were first used in World War II and came into wide use during the Vietnam War. The technology has evolved greatly since their introduction, leading to several "generations" of night-vision equipment with performance increases and price reductions.
context_section_description: Third-generation night-vision systems developed in the 1990s maintain the MCP from Gen II, but now use a photocathode made with gallium arsenide, which further improves image resolution. In addition, the MCP is coated with an ion barrier film for increased tube life. However, the ion barrier causes fewer electrons to pass through, diminishing the improvement expected from the gallium-arsenide photocathode. Because of the ion barrier, the "halo" effect around bright spots or light sources is larger too. The light amplification is also improved to around 30000–50000. Power consumption is higher than in GEN II tubes.
  Examples:
  AN/PVS-7
  AN/NVS-7
  AN/PVS-10
  AN/PVS-14
  AN/PNVS-14
  AN/PSQ-20
  CNVS-4949
  PN-21K
caption: An early development version of the AN/PVS-7 goggle
exif: {"Image XResolution": "285", "Image YResolution": "285", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image ExifOffset": "78", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "176", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3037"}