Description:
A novel and efficient method of thermal detection by Infrared imaging
NJIT Case No. 18-004 and 18-014
Inventors: Asahel Banobre, Sita Rajyalaxmi Marthi, N.M. Ravindra
Intellectual Property & Development status: Patent protection is pending.
NJIT is currently seeking commercial partners for the further development and commercialization of this opportunity.
Technology Brief:
Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology in the Department of Physics have invented a novel cost-effective, efficient and silicon-compatible infrared radiation absorbing and a thermo-sensing material for thermal detection by Infrared imaging in a microbolometer.
Microbolometers are commonly used infrared (IR) imaging thermal detectors. A typical microbolometer has two components, an IR absorber material coupled to a thermosensing material. IR absorbing material absorbs the incident radiation and converts it to thermal energy. This thermal energy in turn changes the physical properties, the resistivity of the thermosensing material as a function of temperature, and the change is transduced into an electrical output signal. Currently used material are unstable, not compatible with standard silicon-based microfabrication processes, require high cost techniques and have high electrical resistivity therefore large noise, and low detection sensitivity. The invention is a low-doped p-type silicon as a thermosensing material, which has high temperature coefficient of temperature (TCR), low electrical resistivity and therefore low noise and high detection sensitivity. Additionally invention uses Black Silicon (BSi) as an IR absorbing material, which has very high absorptance in the IR range of wavelengths. Another advantage of using BSi is reduction in cost of fabricating a microbolometer as it is compatible with industry standard of existing Si wafer technology. Further, invention also proposes the unique design of a microbolometer, which allows the enhancement of the radiation absorbed by the microbolometer detector.
Advantages
• Cost effective
• Compatible with industry standard
• Increased efficiency
• Low noise
Applications
• Infrared Camera
• Process control
• Real time temperature mapping
• Cancer diagnostics