The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 26, 2018
Filed:
Oct. 09, 2015
Robert Bosch Gmbh, Stuttgart, DE;
Thomas Rocznik, Mountain View, CA (US);
Fabian Purkl, Rutesheim, DE;
Gary O'Brien, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Ando Feyh, Reutlingen, DE;
Bongsang Kim, Mountain View, CA (US);
Ashwin Samarao, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Gary Yama, Mountain View, CA (US);
Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, DE;
Abstract
A semiconductor sensor system, in particular a bolometer, includes a substrate, an electrode supported by the substrate, an absorber spaced apart from the substrate, a voltage source, and a current source. The electrode can include a mirror, or the system may include a mirror separate from the electrode. Radiation absorption efficiency of the absorber is based on a minimum gap distance between the absorber and mirror. The current source applies a DC current across the absorber structure to produce a signal indicative of radiation absorbed by the absorber structure. The voltage source powers the electrode to produce a modulated electrostatic field acting on the absorber to modulate the minimum gap distance. The electrostatic field includes a DC component to adjust the absorption efficiency, and an AC component that cyclically drives the absorber to negatively interfere with noise in the signal.