Bi-material resonant infrared thermal detector and array

A resonant infrared thermal sensor with high sensitivity, whose sensing element is a bi-material structure with thermal expansion mismatch effect, is presented in this paper. The sensor detects infrared radiation by means of tracking the change in resonance frequency of the bi-material structure with temperature change attributed to the infrared radiation from targets. The bi-material structure can amplify the change in resonance frequency compared to a single material sensing structure. In accordance with the theory of vibration mechanics and design principle of infrared thermal detector, the bi-material resonant sensor by means of which an array can be achieved is designed. The simulation results, by ANSYS software analysis based on multi-layer shell finite element, demonstrate that the dependence of resonance frequency on temperature of the designed sensing structure achieves 1Hz/0.01 degrees C. A microarray with 6x6 resonant infrared sensors is fabricated based on microelectronics processes being compatible with integrated circuit fabrication technology. The frequency variation corresponding to the temperature shift can be obtained by electrical measurement.