Heimann Sensor Gmbh

Excelitas Technologies Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Marion Simon

Wilhelm Leneke

Jörg Schieferdecker

Karlheinz Storck

Bodo Forg

Frank Herrmann

Michael Schnorr

Mischa Schulze

Christian Schmidt

Martin Hausner

Joerg Schieferdecker

Michael Müller

A method for producing a thermal infrared sensor array in a vacuum-filled wafer-level housing with particularly small dimensions, consisting of at least two wafers, a cover wafer and a central wafer comprising multiple infrared-sensitive sensor pixels on a respective thin slotted membrane over a heat-insulating cavity is disclosed. A method for producing a high-resolution monolithic silicon micromechanical thermopile array sensor using wafer level packaging technology, wherein the sensor achieves a particularly high spatial resolution capability and a very high filling degree with very small housing dimensions, in particular a very low overall thickness, and can be inexpensively produced using standard CMOS processes. This is achieved in that the cover wafer is first rigidly mechanically connected to the provided central wafer comprising the sensor pixels with the infrared-sensitive pixels by means of wafer bonding, and the central wafer is then thinned out from the wafer rear face to a specified thickness.

Method for producing a thermal infrared sensor array in a vacuum-filled wafer-level housing

An SMD-enabled infrared thermopile sensor has at least one miniaturized thermopile pixel on a monolithically integrated sensor chip accommodated in a hermetically sealed housing which consists of an at least partially non-metallic housing substrate and a housing cover. A gas or a gas mixture is contained in the housing. The sensor has a particularly low overall height, in particular in the z direction. This is achieved by virtue of an aperture opening being introduced in the housing cover opposite the thermopile pixel(s), which aperture opening is closed with a focusing lens which focuses the radiation from objects onto the thermopile pixel(s) on the housing substrate, and by virtue of a signal processing unit being integrated on the same sensor chip next to the thermopile pixels, wherein the total housing height and the housing cover are at most 3 mm or less than 2.5 mm.

SMD-enabled infrared thermopile sensor

High-resolution thermopile infrared sensor array having a plurality of parallel signal processing channels for the signals of a sensor array and a digital port for serially emitting the signals. Each signal processing channel comprises at least one analog to digital converter and is assigned a memory for storing the results of the analog to digital converters. Power consumption of the infrared sensor array is reduced in the case of a sensor array with at least 16 rows and at least 16 columns, in that no more than 8 or 16 pixels are connected to a signal processing channel. The number of signal processing channels corresponds to at least 4 times the number of rows. Some of the signal processing channels are disposed in the intermediate space between the pixels and others are disposed in an outer edge region of the sensor chip surrounding the sensor array along with other electronics.

High-resolution thermopile infrared sensor array

A high-resolution thermopile infrared sensor array having monolithically integrated signal processing and a plurality of parallel signal processing channels for the signals from pixels of a sensor array, and a digital port for the serial output of the pixel signals are provided, wherein the sensor array is located on one or more sensor chips. The thermal piled infrared sensor array possesses low power loss, high integration density and high thermal and geometric resolution. Each signal processing channel (K. . . K) has at least one analogue/digital converter (ADC), and is assigned a memory region in a memory (RAM) for storing the signals from the pixels (SE).

High resolution thermopile infrared sensor array having monolithically integrated signal processing

The invention relates to a thermopile infrared individual sensor in a housing that is filled with a gaseous medium having optics and one or more sensor chips with individual sensor cells with infrared sensor structures with reticulated membranes, the infrared-sensitive regions of which are spanned by, in each case, at least one beam over a cavity in a carrier body with good thermal conduction. The object of the invention consists of specifying a thermopile infrared sensor using monolithic Si-micromechanics technology for contactless temperature measurements, which, in the case of a sufficiently large receiver surface, outputs a high signal with a high response speed and which can operated in a gaseous medium with normal pressure or reduced pressure and which is producible in mass produced numbers without complicated technology for sealing the housing. This is achieved by virtue of, in each case, combining a plurality of individual adjacent sensor cells () with respectively one infrared-sensitive region with thermopile structures () on the membrane () on a common carrier body () of an individual chip to a single thermopile sensor structure with a signal output in the housing, consisting of a cap () sealed with a base plate () with a common gaseous medium ().

Thermopile infrared individual sensor for measuring temperature or detecting gas

A thermal infrared sensor array in a wafer-level package includes at least one infrared-sensitive pixel produced using silicon micro mechanics, comprising a heat-isolating cavity in a silicon substrate surrounded by a silicon edge, and a thin membrane connected to the silicone edge by of thin beams. The cavity extends through the silicon substrate to the membrane, and there are slots between the membrane, the beams and the silicon edge. A plurality of infrared-sensitive individual pixels are arranged in lines or arrays and are designed in a CMOS stack in a dielectric layer, forming the membrane, and are arranged between at least one cover wafer which is designed in the form of a cap and has a cavity and a base wafer. The cover wafer, the silicon substrate and the base wafer are connected to one another in a vacuum-tight manner and enclosing a gas vacuum.

Thermal infrared sensor array in wafer-level package

Thermopile infrared sensor structure with a high filling level in a housing filled with a medium (), consisting of a carrier substrate () which has electrical connections (') to the outside and is closed with an optical assembly (), wherein a sensor chip () is applied to the carrier substrate () in the housing, which chip has a plurality of thermoelectric sensor element structures (), the so-called 'hot contacts' () of which are located on individual diaphragms () which are stretched across a respective cavity () in a silicon carrying body () with good thermal conductivity, wherein the 'cold contacts' () are located on or in the vicinity of the silicon carrying body (). The problem addressed by the invention is that of specifying a thermopile infrared array sensor (sensor cell) which, with a small chip size, has a high thermal resolution and a particularly high filling level. This sensor is preferably intended to be operated in gas with a normal pressure or a reduced pressure and is intended to be able to be mass-produced in a cost-effective manner under ultra-high vacuum without complicated technologies for closing the housing. This is achieved by virtue of the fact that a radiation collector structure () is located above each individual diaphragm () of the sensor element structures () which spans a cavity ().

Thermopile infrared sensor structure with a high filling level

A thermal infrared sensor is provided in a housing with optics and a chip with thermoelements on a membrane. The membrane spans a frame-shaped support body that is a good heat conductor, and the support body has vertical or approximately vertical walls. The thermopile sensor structure consists of a few long thermoelements per sensor cell. The thermoelements being arranged on connecting webs that connect together hot contacts on an absorber layer to cold contacts of the thermoelements. The membrane is suspended by one or more connecting webs and has, on both sides of the long thermoelements, narrow slits that separate the connecting webs from both the central region and also the support body. At least the central region is covered by the absorber layer.

Thermopile infrared sensor by monolithic silicon micromachining

A thermopile infrared sensor array, comprises a sensor chip with a number of thermopile sensor elements, made from a semiconductor substrate and corresponding electronic components. The sensor chip is mounted on a support circuit board and enclosed by a cap in which a lens is arranged. The aim is the production of a monolithic infrared sensor array with a high thermal resolution capacity with a small chip size and which may be economically produced. The aim is achieved by arranging a thin membrane made from non-conducting material on the semiconductor substrate of the sensor chip on which the thermopile sensor elements are located in an array. Under each thermopile sensor element, the back side of the membrane is uncovered in a honeycomb pattern by etching and the electronic components are arranged in the boundary region of the sensor chip. An individual pre-amplifier with a subsequent low-pass filter may be provided for each column and each row of sensor elements.

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Bad Schwalbach, Germany

Marion Simon