Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2017
Infrared array detectors are a new and promising tool for investigating the properties of magnetic field concentrations in the solar photosphere. Array measurements provide large statistical samples of polarized line profiles and display the spatial organization of the magnetic field. The wavelength region near 1.6 μm has important advantages for magnetometry: spectral lines with magnetic sensitivites ranging from low to very high; low continuum opacity; high continuum flux; and the possibility of sub-arcsecond angular resolution with existing telescopes. Initial results have extended earlier work on the distribution of field strength and flux in plages and revealed new properties specifically connected with spatial structure. The quality and flexibility of near infrared magnetographs can be expected to improve rapidly.