Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130082181 | NANO-TIP SPACERS FOR PRECISE GAP CONTROL AND THERMAL ISOLATION IN MEMS STRUCTURES - A THz radiation detector comprising a vertical antenna separated from a suspended platform by an isolating thermal air gap for concentrating THz radiation energy into a smaller suspended MEMS platform upon which a thermal sensor element is located. THz photon energy is converted into electrical energy via a thermally isolated air gap between plates of a coupling capacitor separated by a plurality of nano-tip spacers that determine the gap distance. The capacitor couples energy from the antenna to the thermal sensor. | 04-04-2013 |
20140117236 | SUSPENDED WIDEBAND PLANAR SKIRT ANTENNA HAVING LOW THERMAL MASS FOR DETECTION OF TERAHERTZ RADIATION - A novel and useful THz radiation detector comprising a suspended wideband planar skirt antenna for achieving low thermal mass and high electrical performance. The antenna comprises only the perimeter or “skirt” of the antenna. The antenna has multiple loops where each loop comprises a conductor that covers the perimeter or skirt and includes multiple inner and outer arms. The total length of each loop has a length substantially one wavelength. One or more ports or load impedances are connected at the center of the antenna and shared by one or more loops. A thermal sensor detects the heat generated in the load resister and converts the heat energy to an electrical signal which is transmitted to read out circuitry via signal lines that run together with a holding arm. The holding arm functions as both a path for the read out signals as well as providing mechanical support for and effectively suspending the antenna. | 05-01-2014 |
20140117237 | HIGH RESPONSIVITY DEVICE FOR THERMAL SENSING IN A TERAHERTZ RADIATION DETECTOR - There is provided a novel and useful a high responsivity device for thermal sensing in a Terahertz (THz) radiation detector. A load impedance connected to an antenna heats up due to the incident THz radiation received by the antenna. The heat generated by the load impedance is sensed by a thermal sensor such as a transistor. To increase the responsivity of the sense device without increasing the thermal mass, the device is located underneath a straight portion of an antenna arm. The transistor runs substantially the entire length of the antenna arm alleviating the problem caused by placing large devices on the side of the antenna and the resulting large additional thermal mass that must be heated. This boosts the responsivity of the pixel while retaining an acceptable level of noise and demanding a dramatically smaller increase in the thermal time constant. | 05-01-2014 |
20140117241 | DIPOLE ANTENNA WITH REFLECTORS HAVING LOW THERMAL MASS FOR DETECTION OF TERAHERTZ RADIATION - A novel and useful THz radiation detector comprising a suspended dipole antenna and a plurality of reflectors for achieving low thermal mass and high electrical performance. The reflectors used in the antenna do not physical contact the dipole element and are used to shape the radiation pattern in similar fashion as obtained by well-known Yagi-Uda reflectors. The dipole element is connected directly to a load resister for generating heat which is sensed by a sensing transistor. The lack of a mechanical connection to the dipole antenna element prevents any increase in the thermal capacitance of the antenna. | 05-01-2014 |
20140180604 | METHOD OF SIMULATING THE ABSORPTION OF PLANE WAVES USING FEM SOFTWARE TOOLS - A novel and useful method of visualization by detection of EM radiation being irradiated or reflected from objects in the imager's field of view using Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation software tools. The methodology provides a verification method of antenna operation from an electrical point of view since bolometer performance cannot be estimated using regular antenna parameters such as directivity, gain, impedance matching, etc. as the bolometer does not behave as an antenna but rather behaves as an absorber. An incident wave is triggered on the absorber and the absorption of the bolometer structure is estimated using commercially available Finite Element Method (FEM) software (e.g., ANSYS HFSS, CST Microwave Studio, etc.). How much of the energy is reflected is subsequently measured. The energy which is not reflected is considered to be absorbed by the absorber. | 06-26-2014 |
20140284483 | HIGH RESPONSIVITY DEVICE FOR THERMAL SENSING IN A TERAHERTZ RADIATION DETECTOR - There is provided a high responsivity device for thermal sensing in a Terahertz (THz) radiation detector. A load impedance connected to an antenna heats up due to the incident THz radiation received by the antenna. The heat generated by the load impedance is sensed by a thermal sensor such as a transistor. To increase the responsivity of the sense device without increasing the thermal mass, the device is located underneath a straight portion of an antenna arm. The transistor runs substantially the entire length of the antenna arm alleviating the problem caused by placing large devices on the side of the antenna and the resulting large additional thermal mass that must be heated. This boosts the responsivity of the pixel while retaining an acceptable level of noise and demanding a dramatically smaller increase in the thermal time constant. | 09-25-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130082345 | Hybrid FPA for Thz imaging with an antenna array, coupled to CMOS-MEMS thermal sensors, implementing per-pixel ES actuation and enabling tuning, correlated double sampling and AM modulation - A THz radiation detector comprising a vertical antenna separated from a suspended platform by an isolating thermal air gap for concentrating THz radiation energy into a smaller suspended MEMS platform upon which a thermal sensor element is located. THz photon energy is converted into electrical energy via a thermally isolated air gap between plates of a coupling capacitor that couples energy from the antenna to the thermal sensor. The capacitor plates used for capacitive coupling of the received signal realize an electro-static actuator whereby the application of a DC bias varies the coupling capacitor gap. The DC bias causes the actuator to pull the suspended platform close to the antenna to reduce the capacitive gap, increasing the coupling capacitance, to touch the antenna array thus quickly discharging the heat induced in the sensor platform or to perform advanced readout operations, such as amplitude modulation and correlated double sampling. | 04-04-2013 |
20130142215 | Sensing device having a thermal antenna and a method for sensing electromagnetic radiation - A method and a sensing device are provided. The sensing device may include: a thermal antenna that includes a resistive material and has a cross section that has dimensions that are of an order of a micron or of a sub-micron. The thermal antenna may receive electromagnetic radiation and directly convert it to heat. The sensing device may also include a supporting element, a thermal sensor arranged to generate detection signals responsive to a temperature of a sensed area of the thermal sensor, a holding element that may support and thermally isolate the thermal antenna and the thermal sensor and thermally isolate, and a readout circuit that may process the detection signals to provide information about the electromagnetic radiation that is directly converted to heat by the thermal antenna. The thermal antenna and the thermal sensor are spatially separated from the supporting element. | 06-06-2013 |
20140151581 | TERAHERTZ SOURCE - A TeraHertz radiating system that may include a blackbody arranged to emit blackbody radiation that comprises a TeraHertz component, a visible light component and an infrared component; and a filtering module that is arranged to pass the TeraHertz component and to reject the visible light component and the infrared component to provide filtered radiation. | 06-05-2014 |