Uncooled Infrared Radiation Image Sensor

Toshiba has developed a 32 μm pitch and 160 × 120 pixel uncooled infrared radiation focal plane array (IRFPA).

For infrared detection, we use silicon single-crystal p-n junctions, which can realize high uniformity of the temperature coefficient and low voltage drift of the signal. Since the IRFPA is fabricated on a Si-on-insulator (SOI) substrate using 0.35 μm complementary MOS (CMOS) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, high reliability and mass productivity are simultaneously attained.

We have also developed a low-noise CMOS readout circuit on the same SOI that can compensate for substrate temperature variations in each frame period by comparing two types of pixels: an infrared detection pixel and an unresponsive pixel. This means that the IRFPA requires no thermoelectric cooler and can be mounted on a lowcost standard ceramic package, leading to miniaturization of the sensor module.

Thanks to these breakthrough technologies, our IRFPA is expected to be used in various applications including the consumer products and security fields.

Uncooled infrared radiation Image Sensor chip