Microfabricated silicon thermopile sensor
First Claim
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1. A thermopile sensor for measuring differential temperatures between an external object to be measured contacting the sensing edge and a reference object contacting the reference edge of the thermopile sensor, comprising:
- a) a base layer, comprising;
i) a reference heat sink;
ii) a sensing heat sink; and
iii) an etched area separating said reference and said sensing heat sinks;
b) an electrically insulating layer on said base layer and spanning said etched area;
c) a plurality of alternating p-type and n-type thermopile arms formed in an electrically conducting layer on said electrically insulating layer and spanning said etched area, wherein said alternating p-type and n-type thermopile arms have an electrical connection between each alternating pair of said p-type and n-type thermopile arms;
d) a thermal reference area at an outside edge of said reference heat sink; and
e) a thermal sensing area at an outside edge of said sensing heat sink.
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Abstract
A microfabricated thermopile optimized as a differential temperature sensor provides differential temperature sensing between opposite edges of the device. A plurality of the thermopile sensors are stacked to increase the number of couples possible with an attendant increase in sensitivity.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A thermopile sensor for measuring differential temperatures between an external object to be measured contacting the sensing edge and a reference object contacting the reference edge of the thermopile sensor, comprising:
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a) a base layer, comprising; i) a reference heat sink; ii) a sensing heat sink; and iii) an etched area separating said reference and said sensing heat sinks; b) an electrically insulating layer on said base layer and spanning said etched area; c) a plurality of alternating p-type and n-type thermopile arms formed in an electrically conducting layer on said electrically insulating layer and spanning said etched area, wherein said alternating p-type and n-type thermopile arms have an electrical connection between each alternating pair of said p-type and n-type thermopile arms; d) a thermal reference area at an outside edge of said reference heat sink; and e) a thermal sensing area at an outside edge of said sensing heat sink. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A thermopile sensor for measuring differential temperatures between an external object to be measured contacting the sensing edge and a reference object contacting the reference edge of the thermopile sensor, comprising:
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a) a base layer, comprising; i) a reference heat sink; ii) a sensing heat sink; and iii) an etched area separating said reference and said sensing heat sinks; b) an electrically insulating layer on said base layer and spanning said etched area; c) a pair of p-type and n-type thermopile arms formed in an electrically conducting layer on said electrically insulating layer and spanning said etched area, wherein said pair of p-type and n-type thermopile arms have an electrical connection between said p-type and n-type thermopile arms; d) a thermal reference area at an outside edge of said reference heat sink; and e) a thermal sensing area at an outside edge of said sensing heat sink. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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Specification