Lock-in infrared thermographic systems developed since more than ten years allow the measurement of both amplitude and phase of periodic temperature fields. They have been essentially used for mechanical testing, mainly for stress field analysis, and for NDE. The present system is applied to the quantitative characterization of electromagnetic fields. The modulated amplitude of the temperature leads to the intensity of the field. The purpose of such a system is to eliminate both radiato-convective and conductive effects which produce a blurring of the thermal image and hence degrade the accuracy of the measurement. Experiments demonstrate the real enhancement of the technique when compared to classical steady state measurements. The interest of the thermal phase image is also presented.