Marking system and method

1. A target marking method, comprising:

(a) forming a thermal designation on a target with an emitter mounted on a vehicle, the emitter including at least one quantum cascade laser forming the designation with a thermal beam having a wavelength between approximately 2 μm and approximately 30 μm;

(b) viewing an image of radiation from the target and the thermal designation with a thermal imager mounted on the vehicle

(c) determining a location of the target with the thermal imager; and

(d) generating, with the thermal imager, a signal, wherein the emitter emits the thermal beam having a characteristic in response to the signal that causes a portion of the target to radiate according to the designation for a period of time after the emitter stops emitting the beam and wherein the characteristic is determined based upon imaged radiation from the designation on the target during the period of time after the emitter has stopped emitting the beam.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the emitter is formed integrally with the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 , further including providing power from a power source of the vehicle to the emitter.

4. The method of claim 2 , further including providing coolant from a cooling system of the vehicle to the emitter.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising varying a divergence of the thermal beam.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the designation is characterized by a predetermined temporal modulation pattern on the target after the emitter stops emitting the beam.

7. The method of claim 1 , further including viewing the designation while the thermal imager is moving relative to the target.

8. The method of claim 7 , further including viewing the designation while the emitter is moving relative to the target.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target is characterized by a temperature greater than approximately 96° Fahrenheit.

10. A target marking method, comprising:

mounting an emitter on a manned vehicle via a support structure coupled to the vehicle, the emitter comprising at least one quantum cascade laser;

transporting the emitter, via the vehicle, from a first location to a second location different than the first location;

transmitting a wireless signal to the emitter from a thermal imager;

emitting a first thermal beam with the at least one quantum cascade laser, the first thermal beam having a wavelength between approximately 2 μm and approximately 30 μm and having a characteristic determined by the wireless signal;

impinging the first thermal beam on a target, thereby forming a thermal designation on the target that continues to radiate the thermal designation according to the characteristic during a predetermined period of time after the emitting of the first thermal beam stops; and

detecting radiation having the wavelength, including radiation from the target and the designation;

determining the characteristic of the beam based upon the radiation detected during the predetermined period of time; and

making a determination about the target using the determined characteristic of the beam.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising varying a divergence of the first thermal beam.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising forming a second thermal beam with the emitter, the second thermal beam having a different wavelength than a wavelength of the first thermal beam.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising forming a second thermal beam with the emitter, the second thermal beam being formed by a beam source of the emitter separate from the at least one quantum cascade laser.

14. The method of claim 10 , further including providing power to the emitter via a power source of the manned vehicle.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the emitter and the support structure is formed integrally with the manned vehicle.

16. The method of claim 10 , further including emitting the first thermal beam in response to a signal received from the thermal imager.

17. The method of claim 16 , further including operating an actuation device associated with the emitter in response to the signal.

18. The method of claim 10 , further including receiving a signal from the thermal imager of the vehicle representative of a location of the target, and moving the emitter relative to the support structure in response to the signal, wherein movement of the emitter aims the emitter at the location.

19. The method of claim 10 , further including determining, based on a characteristic of the first thermal beam, that the vehicle on which the emitter is mounted is a friendly vehicle.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the emitter comprises a first emitter and the thermal imager comprises a first thermal imager, the method further including impinging a second thermal beam on the target with a second emitter separate from the vehicle, the second thermal beam forming a second designation on the target, and

viewing a second image with the thermal imager, the second image including the target and the second designation.

21. The method of claim 20 , further including viewing the second image with a second thermal imager, the second thermal imager comprising a device that is worn by a user.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the second emitter comprises an additional device that is worn by the user.

23. The method of claim 22 , further including moving at least one of the first emitter or the second emitter in response to the signal, wherein movement of at least one of the first emitter or the second emitter aims the at least one emitter at the location.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target has a highly thermally absorbent material configured to generate a large amount of return radiation during the period of time after the emitter stops emitting the beam.