A thermal conductivity measuring device includes a sample holder, a light source designed to emit a pulse of light of a predetermined impulse energy, an optical system for directing the pulse of light in a light path onto the sample in the sample holder, an infrared sensor for time-dependent detection of an infrared radiation intensity emitted by the sample, and an evaluation unit designed to automatically calculate the thermal conductivity of the sample on the basis of the time-dependent infrared radiation intensity. In addition, the light source has a continuous wave laser that is designed to emit an intensity-modulated laser beam, the intensity of which is modulated with an intensity modulation frequency. The light source is arranged to emit the laser beam along a light path. The evaluation unit is designed to automatically calculate the thermal conductivity of the sample on the basis of the time-dependent infrared radiation intensity and the intensity-modulation frequency.

Optical microcavity resonance measurements can have readout noise matching the fundamental limit set by thermal fluctuations in the cavity. Small-heat-capacity, wavelength-scale microcavities can be used as bolometers that bypass the limitations of other bolometer technologies. The microcavities can be implemented as photonic crystal cavities or micro-disks that are thermally coupled to strong mid-IR or LWIR absorbers, such as pyrolytic carbon columns. Each microcavity and the associated absorber(s) rest on hollow pillars that extend from a substrate and thermally isolate the cavity and the absorber(s) from the rest of the bolometer. This ensures that thermal transfer to the absorbers is predominantly from radiation as opposed to from conduction. As the absorbers absorb thermal radiation, they shift the resonance wavelength of the cavity. The cavity transduces this thermal change into an optical signal by reflecting or scattering more (or less) near-infrared (NIR) probe light as a function of the resonance wavelength shift.

A sensing element of an infrared detector including a first absorber configured to form a first set of minority carriers upon receipt of an infrared flux, a collector, a first barrier disposed between the first absorber and the collector, a second absorber configured to form a second set of minority carriers upon receipt of the infrared flux, and a second barrier disposed between the second absorber and the collector. In response to a voltage being applied to the collector, the first and second set of minority carriers are collected at the collector.

The present invention features a novel design for a bolometric infrared detector focused on LWIR range for human body high-resolution temperature sensing. The present invention incorporates an efficient plasmonic absorber and VO.sub.2 nanobeam to facilitate improvement in both aspects—thermal resolution and spatial resolution. The present invention significantly improves the detectivity, NETD, and responsivity for a smaller form-factor detector active area.

The present disclosure generally relates to a substrate support for processing of semiconductor substrates. In one example, the substrate support has a body. The body has a top surface configured to support a substrate thereon. The body has a bottom surface opposite the top surface. The body has an upper portion disposed at the top surface and a lower portion disposed at the bottom surface. An IR blocking material is encased by the upper portion and the lower portion, wherein the IR blocking material is an optically opaque at IR wavelengths and the lower portion is optically transparent at IR wavelengths.

The present disclosure generally relates to a substrate support for processing of semiconductor substrates. In one example, the substrate support has a body. The body has a top surface configured to support a substrate thereon. The body has a bottom surface opposite the top surface. The body has an upper portion disposed at the top surface and a lower portion disposed at the bottom surface. An IR blocking material is encased by the upper portion and the lower portion, wherein the IR blocking material is an optically opaque at IR wavelengths and the lower portion is optically transparent at IR wavelengths.

An apparatus for measuring a temperature of an assembly that is internal to a process chamber. The apparatus may include a light pipe positioned between a lamp radiation filtering window and the assembly, the light pipe has a first end with a bevel configured to redirect infrared radiation emitted from the assembly through the light pipe and has a second end distal to the first end, an optical assembly configured to collimate, filter, and focus infrared radiation from the second end of the light pipe, an optical detector configured to receive an output from the optical assembly and generate at least one signal representative of the infrared radiation, a temperature circuit that transforms the at least one signal into a temperature value, and a controller that is configured to receive the temperature value and to make adjustments to other process parameters of process chamber based on the temperature value.

An infrared (IR) detection sensor for detecting IR radiation. The IR detection sensor including a plurality of nanowires positioned adjacent to each other so as to define a layer. The layer has an outer surface directable towards a source of IR radiation. First and second terminals are electrically coupled to the layer and a circuit is electrically coupled to the first and second terminals. The circuit is configured to determine a value of an electrical property, such as the resistance, of the layer in response to the IR radiation absorbed by the layer.

This invention discloses a probe structure and a thermometer, simply-structured but easy to use for users in a dark environment. The technique solution adopted in this invention is a probe structure, including a probe main body, a temperature sensor module and an optical assembly. The probe main body includes a detection end and a configuration end. The detection end is configured for touching or approaching an object. The configuration end is configured for connecting to an external thermometer body. The probe main body has a chamber for storing the temperature sensor module. The optical assembly is positioned at the configuration end. The optical assembly includes at least one lamp, a lamp panel and a light transmitting component. The at-least-one lamp is positioned at the lamp panel and the light transmitting component is disposed at the periphery of the lamp panel. Light emitted by the lamp passes through the light transmitting component.

Various embodiments include heat and volatile-organic-compounds detecting systems. In one example, the heat-detecting system includes at least one heat sensor mounted externally to a device, such as a local power-box (LPB). The heat sensor has an area-of-detection to detect heat emitted from at least one face of the LPB at one or more locations. The heat-detecting system also includes a high-absorptance infrared-collector (HAIC) formed within the LPB to collect excessive heat generated by a component within the LPB. The excessive heat is correlated to a pre-determined temperature level, and a temperature of the collected excessive heat is measured by the heat sensor. Each of the heat sensor and the HAIC are coupled to a control module. Other apparatuses, designs, and methods are disclosed.