Title :
Micromachined electron tunneling infrared sensors
Author :
Kenny, T.W. ; Kaiser, W.J. ; Podosek, J.A. ; Rockstad, H.K. ; Reynolds, J.K.
Author_Institution :
Center for Space Microelectron. Technol., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
Abstract :
The authors describe the development of an improved Golay cell. This sensor is constructed entirely from micromachined silicon components. In this device, a silicon oxynitride (SiO/sub x/N/sub y/) membrane is deflected by the thermal expansion of a small volume of trapped gas. To detect the motion of the membrane, an electron tunneling displacement transducer is used. An improved infrared sensor in which the cantilever was dispensed with altogether, and the rebalance force from the feedback circuit applied to the membrane directly, is described.<>
Keywords :
infrared detectors; micromechanical devices; semiconductor technology; silicon; silicon compounds; transducers; tunnelling; Golay cell; SiO/sub x/N/sub y/; electron tunneling displacement transducer; infrared sensors; membrane; micromachined components; micromechanical devices; thermal expansion; trapped gas; Biomembranes; Electron traps; Force feedback; Force sensors; Infrared sensors; Motion detection; Silicon; Thermal expansion; Transducers; Tunneling;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, 1992. 5th Technical Digest., IEEE
Conference_Location :
Hilton Head Island, SC, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0456-X
DOI :
10.1109/SOLSEN.1992.228298
