Research and Development in Sensor Technologies

As part of an innovation program with financial support from “Sächsische Aufbaubank” and the EU's European Regional Development Fund, the partners InfraTec and the Center for Microtechnologies at Chemnitz University of Technology have developed a chip holder for pyroelectric DLaTGS sensor elements.

DLaTGS as a pyroelectric material can be used to build detectors that meet the very highest signal-to-noise ratio requirements. They are therefore indispensable for certain applications such as FTIR spectrometers. At the same time, the DLaTGS material places the highest demands on processing and handling, as it is water-soluble, fragile and sensitive to temperature. Consequently, the chip holder must be optimized to meet very specific requirements, which result from the application (FTIR) as well as the material properties of DLaTGS.

The solution developed by the partners is based on silicon micromechanics (MEMS technology). Different variants were designed, manufactured and successfully evaluated.

InfraTec develops and manufactures high-performance detectors as well as special solutions that meet the highest requirements.

To reduce the expenditure for customers and to facilitate the system integration of a detector, InfraTec has developed the digital pyroelectric detector – PyrIQ. It enables complete flexibility in the configuration of the detector parameters and therefore variable signal processing. In addition, it offers improved electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and converts the analog signal with a 16-Bit resolution directly into a digital signal. A further special feature is the "fast recovery after saturation". This function detects the override due to a defective operating status and automatically resets the analog input stage.

In the KERAMIR project, the partners InfraTec and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, want to establish the technological foundations for a completely new category of ceramic-based IR emitters. These emitters should be characterized by a high radiation power in the mid and far infrared range, excellent long-term stability of the optical and electrical properties, high reliability and long service life as well as a very compact surface-mountable design. Ceramic multilayer technology is used to meet these sometimes conflicting requirements. As a result, the IR emitter can be realized as a completely monolithic ceramic component. The key innovation is that the radiating surface is designed as a thin self-supporting ceramic membrane in combination with a thin metallic layer.

Gas detectors for detecting explosive and combustible gases are an indispensable part of the protective equipment of the fire brigade, disaster relief and other civil rescue teams. These devices enable helpers to establish whether an explosive atmosphere is present at the emergency location, which represents an otherwise undetectable hazardous situation. The most accurate knowledge possible about the explosive gases and their spatial expansion is decisive for ensuring fast, safe and efficient intervention. In the course of the MIREX project sponsored by the German Ministry of Research and Education, which ends in May 2019, InfraTec has been working on the development of an innovative device that supports a faster and more exact assessment of the hazardous situation.

A measuring instrument that can determine sound scientific data must be calibrated beforehand. Only then can it output reliable information that is deemed comparable and repeatable. As leading bodies, institutions such as the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) or the National Institute of Standards (NIST) constitute the basis worldwide for the correct calibration of measuring instruments. InfraTec supports the work of PTB and NIST and provide them with detectors such as the LIE-651.

Pyroelectric detectors are sensitive components. To ensure that they provide correct signals throughout their entire service life, a precisely defined atmosphere must prevail within their housing. Even tiny quantities of moisture inside the detectors, for example, produce leakage currents and thus cause deviations from the function parameters. Only a hermetically sealed housing fastening that is stable over a long period of time can prevent this. With financial support from the European Fund for Regional Development of the European Union, InfraTec has developed a broadband, solderable infrared window that provides such protection.

InfraTec has used chip carriers manufactured from metallic contour-etched parts for its pyroelectric infrared detectors for a long time. The components of just a few millimetres in size do not always meet the specified requirements with regard to shape and dimensions. Moreover, deviations from the actual design can involve unintended changes in detector properties. Thus, inspection work and waste increases considerably during the production. Alternative production methods for chip carriers have the potential to achieve more consistent results here. With financial support from the European Fund for Regional Development of the European Union, InfraTec is therefore carrying out research on components made of injection moulded metallised plastic.