Shared membrane thermopile sensor array
A thermopile sensor array is provided. The thermopile sensor array may include multiple pixels formed by multiple thermopiles arranged on a single common shared support membrane. A separation between the edge of the shared support membrane and the outermost thermopile(s) may be included to provide additional thermal isolation between the thermopile and an underlying silicon substrate.
1. A thermopile sensor array for monitoring radiation, the thermopile sensor array comprising:
a semiconductor substrate;
a shared support membrane positioned on the semiconductor substrate;
a plurality of thermopiles arranged on the shared support membrane and semiconductor substrate, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of thermopiles is in contact with the shared support membrane, and wherein a second portion of each of the plurality of thermopiles is in contact with the semiconductor substrate; and
one or more absorbers thermally coupled to each of the plurality of thermopiles,
wherein each respective thermopile in the plurality of thermopiles is operable to generate a separate, independent output voltage in response to receiving radiation from the one or more absorbers, and
wherein the separate, independent output voltage generated by each respective thermopile corresponds to an amount of radiation received by said each respective thermopile.
2. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the shared support membrane is a single continuous membrane.
3. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the thermopile sensor array comprises only one shared support membrane.
4. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the shared support membrane comprises a material having a thermal conductivity less than about 30 W/mK.
5. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the shared support membrane comprises silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, or an organic plastic.
6. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the shared support membrane has a thickness of about 0.1 μm to 5 μm.
7. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein a cavity is formed within the semiconductor substrate, and wherein the shared support membrane is positioned at least partially covering the cavity.
8. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein each thermopile of the plurality of thermopiles is separated from a neighboring thermopile by a distance of less than 12 μm.
9. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of thermopiles comprises 32 or more thermopiles.
10. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of thermopiles comprises 64 or more thermopiles.
11. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein a distance between an edge of the shared support membrane and any of the plurality of thermopiles is a least 100 μm.
12. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein a distance between an edge of the shared support membrane and any of the plurality of thermopiles is at least 150 μm.
13. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein a distance between an edge of the shared support membrane and any of the plurality of thermopiles is at least 200 μm.
14. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of thermopiles are arranged in a 2×2 array, line array, or circular array.
15. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of thermopiles comprises a plurality of thermocouple legs, and wherein the plurality of thermocouple legs of each of the plurality of thermopiles are arranged vertically on the shared support membrane.
16. A thermopile sensor array for monitoring radiation, the thermopile sensor array comprising:
a semiconductor substrate;
a shared support membrane positioned on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the shared support membrane comprises a material having a thermal conductivity less than about 30 W/mK;
a plurality of thermopiles arranged in a substantially parallel configuration along a length of the shared support membrane and semiconductor substrate, wherein a first portion of each of the plurality of thermopiles is in contact with the shared support membrane, and wherein a second portion of each of the plurality of thermopiles is in contact with the semiconductor substrate; and
one or more absorbers thermally coupled to each of the plurality of thermopiles, wherein each respective thermopile in the plurality of thermopiles is operable to generate a separate and independent output voltage in response to receiving radiation from the one or more absorbers, and
wherein the separate, independent output voltage generated by each respective thermopile corresponds to an amount of radiation received by said each respective thermopile.
17. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 , wherein the shared support membrane has a thickness of about 0.1 μm to 5 μm.
18. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 , wherein each thermopile of the plurality of thermopiles is separated from a neighboring thermopile by a distance of less than 12 μm.
19. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 , wherein a distance between an edge of the shared support membrane and any of the plurality of thermopiles is at least 100 μm.
20. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 , wherein a distance between an edge of the shared support membrane and any of the plurality of thermopiles is at least 150 μm.
21. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 , wherein a distance between an edge of the shared support membrane and any of the plurality of thermopiles is at least 200 μm.
22. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 wherein every thermopile that is in contact with the semiconductor substrate is also in contact with the shared support membrane.
23. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 wherein every thermopile that is in contact with the semiconductor substrate is also in contact with the shared support membrane.
24. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 wherein each thermopile in the plurality of thermopiles is electrically isolated from other thermopiles in the plurality of thermopiles.
25. The thermopile sensor array of claim 1 wherein only one absorber is thermally coupled to each of the plurality of thermopiles.
26. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 wherein each thermopile in the plurality of thermopiles is electrically isolated from other thermopiles in the plurality of thermopiles.
27. The thermopile sensor array of claim 16 wherein only one absorber is thermally coupled to each of the plurality of thermopiles.