Claes Mattsson

Thermal simulation and design optimization of a thermopile infrared detector with an SU-8 membrane

Simulation and optimization tools are commonly used in the design phase of advanced electronics devices. In this work, we present a thermal simulation and design optimization tool for infrared thermopile detectors based on a closed membrane structure. The tool can be used to simulate and optimize thermopile detectors with an arbitrary number of design parameters. The optimization utilizes the Nelder–Mead and the adaptive simulated annealing optimization algorithms to maximize the system performance. A thermopile detector with an SU-8-based closed membrane and metal–metal thermocouples has been simulated and optimized. Based on the results generated by the tool, an optimized detector has been fabricated and characterized. The results from the measurements presented are in good agreement with the simulation results.

Design of a Micromachined Thermopile Infrared Sensor With a Self-Supported

In the infrared region of the spectrum thermoelectric detectors such as the thermopile are extensively used. These detectors rely on the well-known Seebeck effect, in which there is a direct conversion of thermoelectric differentials into electrical voltage. The temperature difference over thermocouple junctions is in general, created by forming a thin membrane connected to the silicon bulk. In many existing thermopiles, materials such as Si and Si3N4 have been used as membrane. These materials suffer from relatively high thermal conductivity, which lowers the membrane temperature and reduces the sensitivity of the detector. A material such as SU-8 2002 has a much lower thermal conductivity and is applied using standard photolithographic processing steps. This work presents thermal simulations regarding the use of SU-8 2002 as a thermal insulating membrane as compared to Si and Si3N4. The simulation results presented show that the temperature increase in a 5 mum SiO2/SU-8 membrane is about 9% higher than in a 1 mum Si3N4 membrane, despite the membrane thickness being increased by a factor of 5. A thermopile consisting of 196 serially interconnected Ti/Ni thermocouples positioned on a 5 mum SiO2/SU-8 2002 membrane has been fabricated. The sensitivity of the fabricated device has been evaluated in the infrared region, using a 1.56 mum IR laser and a xenon arc lamp together with a monochromator. The measurement results show a sensitivity of approximately 5 V/W over the wavelength range between 900-2200 nm. Measurements performed in a vacuum chamber show that the sensitivity of the detector could be increased by more than a factor of 3 by mounting the detector in a vacuum sealed capsule.

{\rm SiO}_{2}/{\rm SU}{-}8

Continuous control of the carbon dioxide levels in the ventilation systems in office buildings and public schools has been shown to increase productivity and save money. However, these measurement systems require further developments in order to be more cost effective. This paper presents an evaluation of an Al/Bi thermopile detector with a 4 mum thin SiO2/SU-8 membrane in a CO2 meter application using the nondispersive infrared technology (NDIR). The system consists of an 11 cm aluminum tube, used as the sample chamber and in which a light source and a thermopile detector with a 4.26 mum optical bandpass filter are positioned on its opposite sides. The light source is pulsed with a frequency of 0.5 Hz. The voltage response of the Al/Bi thermopile is measured for different CO2 concentrations, and, as expected according to the Lambert-Beer law, there is an exponential decrease in the measured intensity. The absolute response is about 50% lower than for a commercial HMS J21 thermopile from Heimann Sensor GmbH. In relative terms, on the other hand, the Al/Bi thermopile is more sensitive for changes in the CO2 concentration. At 7500 ppm, the voltage response has decreased to 40% of the reference response measured in the nitrogen atmosphere.

Membrane

In this paper we present the development and characterization of thermopile detector on a 4 mum thin self-supporting membrane made of the epoxy based photoresist SU-8. The membrane is realized using silicon bulk micromachining techniques. In many existing thermopile detectors, a temperature difference over the thermocouple junctions is achieved by connecting a thin membrane of either Si or Si3N4 to a silicon bulk. These materials suffer from relatively high thermal conductivity, which lowers the sensitivity of the detector. A material such as SU-8 has much lower thermal conductivity and is applied using standard photolithographic processing steps. Simulation results are presented which verifies SU-8 as a better choice than Si and Si3N4 when used as thermal insulating membrane in a thermopile detector. A thermopile consisting of 196 series coupled Ti/Ni thermocouples has been fabricated. Results from measurements are presented, showing a sensitivity of 5.6 V/W and a noise equivalent power (NEP) of 9.9 nW/radicHz.

Experimental Evaluation of a Thermopile Detector With SU-8 Membrane in a Carbon Dioxide Meter Setup

In the infrared wavelength region, thermopiles are an important type of detectors. A major advantage of thermopiles is their non-cooling requirement. Depending on the applied absorption layer, thei ...

Development of an infrared thermopile detector with a thin self-supporting SU-8 membrane

This article reports on plasma treatment of SU-8 epoxy in order to enhance adhesive strength for metals. Its samples were fabricated on standard silicon wafers and treated with (O2 and Ar) RF plasma at a power of 25 W at a low pressure of (3 × 10−3 Torr) for different time spans (10–70 s). The sample surfaces were characterized in terms of contact angle, surface (roughness and chemistry) and using a tape test. During the contact angle measurement, it was observed that the contact angle was reduced from 73° to 5° (almost wet) and 23° for (O2 and Ar) treated samples, respectively. The root mean square surface roughness was significantly increased by 21.5% and 37.2% for (O2 and Ar) treatment, respectively. A pattern of metal squares was formed on the samples using photolithography for a tape test. An adhesive tape was applied to the samples and peeled off at 180°. The maximum adhesion results, more than 90%, were achieved for the O2-treated samples, whereas the Ar-treated samples showed no change. The XPS study shows the formation of new species in the O2-treated sample compared to the Ar-treated samples. The high adhesive results were due to the formation of hydrophilic groups and new O2 species in the O2-treated samples, which were absent in Ar-treated samples.

Fabrication and characterization of a design optimized SU-8 thermopile with enhanced sensitivity

Measurements of carbon dioxide levels in the environment are commonly performed by using non-dispersive infrared technology (NDIR). Thermopile detectors are often used in NDIR systems because of their non-cooling advantages. The infrared absorber has a major influence on the detector responsivity. In this paper, the fabrication of a SU-8 epoxy membrane based Al/Bi thermopile detector and the integration of an interferometric infrared absorber structure of wavelength around 4 μm into the detector is reported. The membrane of thermopile detector has been utilized as a dielectric medium in an interferometric absorption structure. By doing so, a reduction in both thermal conductance and capacitance is achieved. In the fabrication of the thermopile, metal evaporation and lift off process had been used for the deposition of serially interconnected Al/Bi thermocouples. Serial resistance of fabricated thermopile was measured as 220 kΩ. The response of fabricated thermopile detector was measured using a visible to infrared source of radiation flux 3.23 mW mm−2. The radiation incident on the detector was limited using a band pass filter of wavelength 4.26 μm in front of the detector. A responsivity of 27.86 V mm2 W−1 at room temperature was achieved using this setup. The fabricated detector was compared to a reference detector with a broad band absorber. From the comparison it was concluded that the integrated interferometric absorber is functioning correctly.

Surface modification of SU-8 for metal/SU-8 adhesion using RF plasma treatment for application in thermopile detectors

This article present the fabrication and development of a thin metal film bolometer IR detector connected in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. The bolometer is constructed on a 4 μm thin self-supported SU-8 2002 membrane. A polymer material such as SU-8 has low thermal conductivity and is applied using standard photolithographic processing step, and this could increase detector sensitivity and lower the production cost. Thermal simulation results are presented, which verifies SU-8 as a better choice of materials compared to common membrane materials such as Si and Silicon nitride. Measurements on the fabricated nickel resistance bolometer on SU-8 2002 membrane show a sensitivity of 9.3 V/W when radiated by an IR laser with a wavelength of 1.56 μm.

Integration of an interferometric IR absorber into an epoxy membrane based CO2 detector

This paper reports on design, simulation and fabrication of a multilayered interferometric absorption structure with a broad absorption in the mid-infrared band. This region is used for IR based CH4 and CO2 detection. The structure consists of five layers of different thickness. The structure consists of one mirror layer of aluminium, two SU-8 epoxy layers and two thin titanium layers. This structure has been fabricated on a silicon substrate and verified for its absorption properties through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The fabricated structure has been compared with simulations are performed using transfer matrix theory. The structure shows more than 90% absorption in the wavelength range of 3.20μm - 5.35μm for simulations and 3.13μm - 5.47μm for FT-IR measurements. The transmission and reflection of SU-8 epoxy was measured using FT-IR (that), resulting in a calculated absorption between 10 - 20% in the area of interest (3μm - 6μm). The use of SU-8 epoxy as dielectric medium, allows for direct integration of the structure into the membrane of a SU-8 membrane based thermopile. The integration results in minimum increase of the thermal capacitance and conductance, which results in maximum detector sensitivity and minimum time constant.

Fabrication and evaluation of a thermal sensor formed on a thin photosensitive epoxy membrane with low thermal conductivity

This paper reports on the integration of a multilayered mid-infrared absorber structure into a SU-8 epoxy membrane-based thermopile detector. The absorber structure was designed and simulated using transfer matrix theory. The fabricated absorber structures were characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The structure shows an absorption of more than 95% in the wavelength range of 3.30pm–5pm for simulations, and 3.2pm–5.47pm for FTIR measurements. The complete fabrication process of a thermopile detector including the integration of a multilayered absorber structure has been presented. A MEMS based infrared emitter was used to characterize the fabricated detector. The serial resistance was measured to 315 kΩ and the responsivity was calculated to 57.5 Vmm2W−1 at a wavelength of 4.26pm. The time constant for the fabricated detector was estimated to around 21ms.