Radiation Sensor

• US 20130144563A1
• Filed: 03/24/2011
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Excelitas Technologies Singapore Pte., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Excelitas Technologies GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Naumann, Stefan, Plotz, Fred, Karagozoglu, Hermann, Barlow, Arthur, Lauck, Guido
• Application Number:
  US13/637,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20130144563A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/190
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/04 Optical or mechanical part supplementary adjustable parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0022 for sensing the radiation of moving bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0025 Living bodies ear thermometers G01J5/0011; detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/06 Arrangements for eliminating effects of disturbing radiation; Arrangements for compensating changes in sensitivity for adjusting of solid angle of collected radiation G01J5/07; means for wavelength selection G01J5/0801
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/07 Arrangements for adjusting the solid angle of collected radiation, e.g. adjusting or orienting field of view, tracking position or encoding angular position optical collimating elements G01J5/0806
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/08 Optical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0803 Arrangements for time-dependent attenuation of radiation signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0806 Focusing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or concave mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/10 using electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details

Abstract

A radiation sensor (10) comprises plural radiation sensing elements (1) arranged along an arrangement line, a lens having an optical axis focusing radiation towards the sensing elements, and circuitry (2) receiving the electric signal of the sensing elements and providing an output signal. The midpoint of the arrangement line may be offset against the optical axis of the converging section (5). At least some of the sensing elements may have different sizes. At least some of the sensing elements may have different relative sensitivity compared to each other. Two or more pairs of adjacent sensing elements may have a different pitch.

Claims

1. A radiation sensor (10) comprising

plural radiation sensing elements (1) arranged along an arrangement line and providing respectively an electric signal in dependence of respectively incident radiation,

radiation converging means having an optical axis for converging incident radiation towards the sensing elements, and

circuitry (2) receiving the electric signal of the sensing elements and providing an output signal in accordance with the electric signals of the sensing elements,

characterized in that

the midpoint of the arrangement line is offset against the optical axis of the converging means (5).

2. A radiation sensor (10), preferably formed in accordance with claim 1, comprising

plural radiation sensing elements (1) arranged along an arrangement line and providing respectively an electric signal in dependence of respectively incident radiation,

radiation converging means having an optical axis for converging incident radiation towards the sensing elements, and

circuitry (2) receiving the electric signal of the sensing elements and providing an output signal in accordance with the electric signals of the sensing elements,

characterized in that

at least some of the sensing elements have different sizes of their sensitive portions compared to each other, preferably different lengths of their effective sensitive area in a dimension along the arrangement line.

3. A radiation sensor (10), preferably formed in accordance with one claim 1, comprising

plural radiation sensing elements (1) arranged along an arrangement line and providing respectively an electric signal in dependence of respectively incident radiation,

radiation converging means having an optical axis for converging incident radiation towards the sensing elements, and

circuitry (2) receiving the electric signal of the sensing elements and providing an output signal in accordance with the electric signals of the sensing elements,

characterized in that

at least some of the sensing elements have different relative sensitivity compared to each other, preferably made by different constructions of the sensing portions or different provision of influencing layers, particularly absorption layers or reflection layers, on said sensing elements.

4. A radiation sensor (10), preferably formed in accordance with claim 1, comprising

plural radiation sensing elements (1) arranged along an arrangement line and providing respectively an electric signal in dependence of respectively incident radiation,

radiation converging means having an optical axis for converging incident radiation towards the sensing elements, and

circuitry (2) receiving the electric signal of the sensing elements and providing an output signal in accordance with the electric signals of the sensing elements,

characterized in that

two or more pairs of adjacent sensing elements have a different pitch.

5. A radiation sensor (10), preferably formed in accordance with claim 1, comprising

one sensing element or plural radiation sensing elements (1) arranged along an arrangement line and providing respectively an electric signal in dependence of respectively incident radiation, radiation converging means having an optical axis for converging incident radiation towards the sensing elements, and

circuitry (2) receiving the electric signal of the sensing elements and providing an output signal in accordance with the electric signals of the sensing elements,

characterized in that

the converging means comprises one or more converging sections for converging radiation and one or more bending sections for bending radiation, the converging section and the bending section preferably being formed integrally.

6. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the arrangement line is a straight line intersecting the optical axis.

7. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the converging means comprises a lens part that may be provided as a part of a housing confining the sensing elements, wherein the lens part may be a spherical lens or a lens with correcting structures.

8. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the arrangement line has a longer part on the one side of the optical axis and a shorter part on the 30 other side of the optical axis, wherein

the size of the sensing elements decreases from an outmost sensing element on the longer part towards a sensing element close to the midpoint, and/or

the sensitivity of the sensing elements increases or decreases from an outmost sensing element on the longer part towards a sensing element close to the midpoint, and/or

the pitch decreases from an outmost sensing element on the longer part towards a sensing element close to the midpoint.

9. The sensor of claim 1, comprising plural further sensing elements, preferably arranged along one or more further arrangement lines.

10. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the sensing elements are sensitive for infrared radiation, and preferably being covered by and influencing layer for increasing absorption of incident radiation.

11. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the circuitry comprises means for individually weighting the output signal from each of the sensing elements.

12. The sensor of claim 1, comprising an outside marker for indicating the arrangement of the inside arrangement line.

13. The sensor of claim 1, comprising terminals provided at a sensor surface having a predetermined angle with respect to the optical axis, the angle being 0°

or 90°

or a value in between.

14. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the circuitry comprises an integrated circuit, preferably an ASIC, comprising preferably an A/D converter (2b) for analog-digital converting signals, particularly one or more of an electric signal generated in accordance with an electric signal of a sensing element or an analog input signal, and comprising a digital signal processing part (2c), which may comprise one or more of

a memory part for storing one or more of input data, program data, measured data, intermediate data.

coding and/or decoding means for encoding data to be output and/or for decoding input data,

multiplexing commanding means for controlling connection of input and/or of output of the A/D converting means and/or of the coding and/or decoding means,

computing means for processing signals derived from the output of the sensing element, wherein the ASIC may further comprise an analog circuit part (2a) that comprises one or more of

amplification means for amplifying the electric signal from the sensing element,

impedance converting means connectable to a sensing element,

filtering means.