Disclosed herein is a sensor system including four interconnected resistors, where two of the resistors are photoconductive detectors, where the photoconductive detectors are illuminated with light at least at two different wavelengths, where two of the resistors does not change their resistance due to the illumination, where an external voltage is applicable to the sensor system, where a differential voltage is measurable, which depends on the resistance changes of the illuminated photoconductive detectors, where the differential voltage gives a mathematical ratio of the four respective resistances.

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.

An ear thermometer includes a probe including an infrared sensor unit for measuring a temperature of an eardrum of an ear of a temperature measurement target parson in a non-contact manner, the probe attached to an ear hole of the temperature measurement target parson. The probe includes a probe body inserted into the ear hole of the temperature measurement target parson, a housing for supporting the probe body; and an in-ear type earpiece attached to the probe body and abutting on an inside of the ear hole of the temperature measurement target person. The infrared sensor unit includes a first sensor and a second sensor arranged in the probe body and spaced apart by a predetermined distance along a direction substantially orthogonal to the eardrum when the probe body is inserted into the ear hole of the temperature measurement target person.

A thermal sensor including a thermal sensing array and a calibration circuit is provided. The thermal sensing array includes a plurality of thermal sensing cells. The thermal sensing cells include a first unmasked thermal sensing cell and a first masked thermal sensing cell. The first unmasked thermal sensing cell senses and obtains a first unmasked sensing data. The first masked thermal sensing cell is disposed adjacent to the first unmasked thermal sensing cell, and the first masked thermal sensing cell obtains a first masked sensing data. The calibration circuit is coupled to the first masked thermal sensing cell and the first unmasked thermal sensing cell. The calibration circuit calibrates the first unmasked sensing data obtained by the first unmasked thermal sensing cell according to the first masked sensing data obtained by the first masked thermal sensing cell to which the first unmasked thermal sensing cell is adjacent.

A method and an infrared measuring system for determining a temperature distribution of a surface without contact includes an infrared detector array with a detector array substrate and respective pluralities of measuring pixels and reference pixels. The measuring pixels are each connected to the detector array substrate with a first thermal conductivity, are sensitive to infrared radiation, and each provide a measurement signal for determining a temperature measurement value that depends on the intensity of the incident infrared radiation. The reference pixels are each connected to the detector array substrate with a second thermal conductivity and each provide a measurement signal for determining a temperature measurement value. The reference pixels are implemented as blind pixels that are substantially insensitive to infrared radiation. The temperature measurement values of the measuring pixels are corrected by a pixel-associated temperature drift component determined with reference to the temperature measurement values of the reference pixels.

A sensor device, a method for operating a sensor device and an electronic assembly comprising a sensor device are disclosed. In an embodiment a sensor device includes a first sensor unit and a second sensor unit in a common housing, wherein each of the first and second sensor units comprises a heater element and a temperature sensor element, wherein the housing comprises a cover element having an opening, the cover element covering the first sensor unit, and wherein the opening is arranged over the second sensor unit.

Improved techniques for thermal imaging and gas detection are provided. In one example, a system includes a first set of filters configured to pass first filtered infrared radiation comprising a first range of thermal wavelengths associated with a background portion of a scene. The system also includes a second set of filters configured to pass second filtered infrared radiation comprising a second range of thermal wavelengths associated with a gas present in the scene. The first and second ranges are independent of each other. The system also includes a sensor array comprising adjacent infrared sensors configured to separately receive the first and second filtered infrared radiation to capture first and second thermal images respectively corresponding to the background portion and the gas. Additional systems and methods are also provided.

The present disclosure relates to an image sensor structure and a manufacturing method thereof. A detection structure layer and a blind pixel structure layer are used. The detection structure layer and the blind pixel structure layer are effectively combined and further formed by ion implantation. Thus, the space ratio of a single pixel is reduced, the integration and device sensitivity are improved, and the blind pixel array and the pixel array are also in the same environment, thereby further improving the detection sensitivity and reducing the detection error.

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.

A pyroelectric infrared sensor device comprising: a pyroelectric infrared sensor part (2); and a cover member (3). The pyroelectric infrared sensor part comprises: a pyroelectric element (21); a housing (24) that the pyroelectric element is placed inside of and comprises an opening at a position facing a light receiving surface of the pyroelectric element; and an infrared transmission filter (25) that is located to cover the opening of the housing. The cover member covers at least a top surface of the pyroelectric infrared sensor part. The infrared transmission filter transmits light equal to or greater than a wavelength of 1 μm. The cover member has a property that a transmittance of infrared light having a wavelength of from 3 μm to 5.5 μm is equal to or greater than 10% and has a uniform material quality in an area corresponding to the top surface of the pyroelectric infrared sensor part.