Infrared sensors of thermal imaging cameras

Infrared sensors operate based on the thermal characteristics of objects. Any object with a temperature above absolute zero (-273℃) will emit infrared rays, and the higher the temperature of the object, the the intensity of the infrared radiation. Infrared sensors use their own sensitivity to infrared radiation. When they receive infrared rays radiated by objects, their internal sensitive components undergo physical changes, thus generating electrical signals. This physical change is closely related to the intensity of infrared radiation. By detecting and analyzing these electrical signals, the infrared intensityated by the object can be determined, and then the temperature information of the object can be obtained.

Thermistor infrared sensor: Thermist are resistors that are extremely sensitive to temperature changes. When a thermistor receives infrared radiation, its own temperature will rise accordingly, and the resistance value of the therm will change significantly with the change of temperature. Using this characteristic, the intensity of the received infrared radiation can be accurately determined by measuring the change of resistance value. For, in some early thermal imaging devices, thermistor infrared sensors were widely used. It has a relatively simple structure and low cost, but its sensitivity and response speed are limited.

Thermopile infrared sensor: A thermopile is composed of multiple thermocouples connected in series. When infrared radiation shines on the thermopile a temperature difference will be generated at both ends of the thermopile. According to the Seebeck effect, this temperature difference will produce a thermoelectric potential. thermopile infrared sensor determines the intensity of infrared radiation by measuring the magnitude of the thermoelectric potential. It has the advantages of fast response speed and good stability In some thermal imaging application scenarios that require high response speed, such as industrial rapid detection and flame monitoring, thermopile infrared sensors play an important role.

Microometer infrared sensor: The microbolometer is currently the most widely used infrared sensitive component. It mainly uses the characteristic that the electrical conductivity of semiconductor materials changes with temperature When the microbolometer receives infrared radiation, its temperature rises, and the electrical conductivity of the semiconductor material changes, resulting in a change in the resistance value of the. By detecting the change in resistance value, the intensity of infrared radiation can be calculated. The microbolometer has the advantages of high sensitivity and high resolution, and accurately detect the subtle changes in infrared radiation, enabling thermal imaging cameras to generate clear and accurate thermal images. It is widely used in security monitoring, medical diagnosis, scientific and other fields.

High sensitivity: Modern infrared sensors, especially microbolometer infrared sensors, have extremely high sensitivity and can detect extremely weak in infrared radiation. This allows thermal imaging cameras to distinguish tiny temperature differences on the surface of objects. Even objects with a temperature difference of only a few tenths of degree can clearly show the temperature distribution difference in the thermal image, providing strong support for precise temperature detection and analysis.

Fast response: With the continuous advancement of technology, the response speed of infrared sensors has been significantly improved. Bothopile and microbolometer infrared sensors can respond to changes in infrared radiation in an extremely short time, quickly generating electrical signals, which meets many real-time applications with requirements, such as thermal imaging obstacle avoidance systems in autonomous driving and temperature monitoring of moving objects.

Good stability: After long-term research and development, the stability of infrared has been significantly improved. In different environmental conditions, such as large changes in temperature and humidity, infrared sensors can still work stably, maintain the consistency of their performance and ensure that thermal imaging cameras output accurate and reliable thermal images, providing stable monitoring protection for industrial production, security monitoring and other fields.

Higher and sensitivity: In order to meet the increasing demand for high-precision thermal imaging, future infrared sensors will develop towards higher resolution and sensitivity. By continuously optimizing the's structure design and manufacturing process, reducing pixel size, and increasing the number of pixels per unit area, the resolution of thermal imaging images can be improved. At the time, new sensitive materials and technologies will be developed to further improve the sensor's response ability to infrared radiation, enhance sensitivity, and enable thermal imaging cameras to capture more temperature changes and object details.

Miniaturization and integration: With the rapid development of the Internet of Things, wearable devices and other fields, higher requirements have been put for the miniaturization and integration of thermal imaging devices. Infrared sensors will continue to develop towards miniaturization and light weight, so as to better integrate into small devices. By adopting advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, infrared sensors will be integrated with signal processing circuits, image processing chips and other components on a single chip, achieving a degree of system integration, reducing the volume and cost of equipment, and expanding the application scope of thermal imaging technology.

Intelligence: The development of artificial intelligence technology an opportunity for the intelligence of infrared sensors. Future infrared sensors will have intelligent analysis and processing capabilities, and will be able to automatically identify and classify different objects, and operations such as temperature anomaly detection and target tracking according to predefined rules and algorithms. By combining artificial intelligence algorithms with infrared sensors, thermal imaging cameras can not only acquire thermal, but also deeply analyze and understand the information in the images, and provide users with more valuable decision-making basis.