A thermoelectric infrared radiation sensor with monolithically integrated amplifier stage and temperature sensor

We report on a monolithic integrated infrared sensor system consisting of a thermopile, a sensor measuring the chip temperature and an amplifier stage fabricated in a CMOS process on SIMOX (separation by implanted oxygen) wafers. A responsivity of 209 V/W and a normalized detectivity D* of 1.3EXP8 cm+Hz+/W were found for thermopiles with single-crystalline p-Si/n-polysilicon thermocouples on silicon oxide/silicon nitride membranes. A first analysis of the thermal influence of the power consumed by the circuitry on the thermopile voltage indicates, that the sensor performance is not deteriorated by the integrated electronic circuitry.