9 Channel Thermopile

11 Dec 2017

LASER COMPONENTS has been working with Dexter Research Centre, a world

leading manufacturer of thermopile detectors and we are pleased to announce the

launch of a new 9 channel MEMS based thermopile in a TO8 style package that can

operate up to temperatures of 125 degrees centigrade. Thermopile detectors are

passive radiation sensing devices that require no bias or cooling and generate an

output in the range of micro to millivolts.

The ST 120 has the nine channels distributed in a 3x3 square matrix and the elements

have an active an active area of 1.44mm2. The thermopile can be fitted with a low

cost NTC chip thermistor for package reference temperature, responsivity is typically

37.9 Volts per Watt.

The voltage produced is proportional to the temperature gradient between junctions

and unlike pyroelectric detectors, thermopiles are very low noise devices generating no

1/f or microphonic noise. Also, thermopile detectors provide a stable output for DC

radiation up to a frequency limited by the time constant of the detector.

Applications include position and motion detection but the channels can be fitted with

internal narrow band pass filters making this thermopile ideal for NDIR gas detection

applications. In NDIR gas is passed through a measurement cell where a broadband

IR source is used to emit light through the cell to a detector. The band pass optical

filters are chosen to select light at the absorption wavelength of the target gas, say 4.3

microns for CO2.

More Information https://www.lasercomponents.com/uk/product/miniature-thermopiles/