Heimann Sensor Gmbh

Perkinelmer Optoelectronics Gmbh

Mischa Schulze

Wilhelm Leneke

Marion Simon

Karlheinz Storck

Jörg Schieferdecker

Frank Herrmann

Christian Schmidt

Joerg Schieferdecker

Bodo Forg

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

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 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.

Thermopile infrared sensor array

A sensor module comprises a radiation-sensitive sensor element (), a sensor signal processing circuit () receiving the output signal of the sensor element () and obtaining a radiation-dependent first electric signal therefrom, a temperature-sensitive reference means () providing a temperature-dependent second electric signal and a signal combining means () for combining the two electric signals. The sensor signal processing circuit (), the reference means () and the combining means () are formed on a single chip (), and the chip () and the sensor element () are accommodated in a common housing ().

Growing community of inventors

Hünstetten, Germany

Mischa Schulze