As a key component of active infrared thermography detection technology, the excitation source has a direct impact on the detection effect, and the halogen lamp, as a commonly used excitation source in infrared thermography detection, has the advantages of rapid heating, high stability and strong adjustability, and has become a cost-effective excitation source in active infrared thermography. Halogen lamps can be used as excitation sources with a single halogen lamp or multiple halogen lamps as excitation, and their main differences are heating uniformity and irradiation intensity, which will affect the performance of the excitation source and thus the detection of defects. Therefore, the study of the irradiance distribution of a single halogen lamp and multiple halogen lamps and their detection effect as an excitation source on carbon fiber composites can provide guidance for the design of effective halogen lamp excitation sources, so as to improve the detection effect of carbon fiber composites.The irradiance simulation of a single halogen lamp and multiple halogen lamps was carried out to explore their irradiance distribution. The finite element simulation of carbon fiber composites by a single halogen lamp and a halogen lamp array was carried out to explore their heating effects on carbon brazing composites. COMSOL was used to perform a finite element simulation of thermal imaging of absorber coating debonding defects, and to explore which single halogen lamp or halogen lamp array as an excitation source was better for detecting absorber coating debonding defects. Periodic thermal imaging experiments were carried out to investigate the actual detection effect of a single halogen lamp and a halogen lamp array as an excitation source on the debonding defects of the absorbing coating.From the irradiance simulation results, it can be seen that the irradiance uniformity of the single lamp is poor, and the irradiation intensity is also low, with the maximum irradiation intensity of only 0.001 9 W/mm², and the irradiance uniformity and irradiation intensity of the halogen lamp array are good (Fig.4). From the finite element simulation of carbon fiber composite heating, it can be seen that a single halogen lamp only heats a small circular area in the center of the specimen, while the halogen lamp array can achieve uniform heating of the specimen in the area size of 280 mm× 160 mm (Fig.9). From the finite element simulation of the debonding defects of the absorbing coating, it can be seen that a single halogen lamp can only detect defects in the heating area as an excitation source, and the halogen lamp array can heat the whole specimen more uniformly, and the defect detection effect is better (Fig.14). The results of the final periodic thermal imaging experiments show that the infrared heat map noise obtained by a single halogen lamp as an excitation source is larger, and the infrared heat map noise obtained by the halogen lamp array as an excitation source is significantly less, and the minimum diameter of the defects with a buried depth of 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm and 2 mm can be detected is 3 mm,which verifies the effectiveness of the halogen lamp array as an excitation source for thermal imaging (Fig.19).By simulating the irradiance distribution of a single halogen lamp and a plurality of halogen lamps, it is concluded that the irradiance distribution range of a single halogen lamp is small and the irradiance distribution is uneven, while for multiple halogen lamps, the irradiance distribution uniformity and irradiation range can be increased by adjusting the spacing between halogen lamps and increasing the number of halogen lamps. From the results of thermal imaging finite element simulation, it can be seen that a single halogen lamp as an excitation source can heat the carbon fiber composite material in a small range and heating unevenly, while the halogen lamp array can provide uniform heating within a certain range, and the irradiation intensity is also greater than that of a single halogen lamp because the total output power of the halogen lamp array is higher. It can be seen from the detection results of the debonding defects of the absorbing coating that the detection effect of halogen lamp array as an excitation source is better than that of a single halogen lamp as an excitation source. From the point of view of defect detection, it is suitable to detect defects with shallow burial depth in the early stage of heating, and suitable for detecting defects with deep burial depth in the late heating stage. The above research content can provide guidance for the design of effective thermal imaging halogen lamp excitation source.