Bolometric detector with an antenna

• US 7,030,453 B1
• Filed: 12/28/1999
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Inventors: Agnese, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Shouxiang
• Application Number:
  US09/869,590
• Time in Patent Office: 2,303 Days
• Field of Search: 257467-470, 257/428, 250/250, 250/338.1, 250/227.11, 505/161, 374/32
• US Class Current: 257/428
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/08 Optical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0837 Microantennas, e.g. bow-tie
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/20 using resistors, thermistors or semiconductors sensitive to radiation, e.g. photoconductive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 11/006 using measurement of the effect of a material on microwaves or longer electromagnetic waves, e.g. measuring temperature via microwaves emitted by the object G01K17/003, G01J5/00 take precedence; measuring the effect of a material on X-, gamma- or particle radiation G01K11/30

Abstract

The invention relates to a bolometric detector comprising a receiving antenna (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) for collecting electromagnetic waves and a resistive load for converting the power of electromagnetic waves into heating power. The resistive load is the load resistor of the antenna.

The invention is more particularly applied to the detection of objects in “all-weather” conditions (rain, fog, smoke, etc).

Claims

1. An imaging device comprising at least a set of four bolometric detectors arranged side by side, wherein each of the at least four bolometric detectors is a detector comprising a receiving antenna for collecting electromagnetic waves, the receiving antenna having a load resistance,

a resistive load for converting the power from the electromagnetic waves into heating power,

a thermometric component for measuring a rise in temperature of said receiving antenna, relatively to a reference temperature, associated with the heating power, wherein

the resistive load is formed by the load resistance of the antenna, and

the thermometric component is electrically insulated from the load resistance of the antenna, and

the at least four bolometric detectors are arranged so that respective thermoelectric devices are mounted in parallel, wherein a first two of said at least four bolometric detectors are configured to receive TE waves and another two of said at least four bolometric detectors are configured to collect TM waves, wherein the thermoelectric components of the first two of said at least four bolometric detectors are connected for forming a first parallel circuit and the thermoelectric components of the second two of said at least four bolometric detectors are connected to form a second parallel circuit,

wherein each of said at least four bolometrics detector comprises a diode placed in a vicinity of the respective thermoelectric component, wherein each diode is configured to remove all or part of parasitic signals received by the respective bolometric detector through differential readout of signals generated by said respective bolometric detector and signals derived from said diode.