Pyroelectric ceramics and thin films for applications in uncooled infra-red sensor arrays

Pyroelectric infra-red detector arrays provide an attractive solution to the problem of collecting spatial information in the far IR. They are only sensitive to changes in the IR flux and are well suited to sensing movements of people. The applications of low cost arrays with limited ( a few hundred) elements for people sensing and radiometry will be illustrated. The performances of uncooled pyroelectric arrays are ultimately driven by the materials used. For this reason, continuous improvements in materials technology and figures-of-merit (FoM) are important. The performance of dense, bulk pyroelectric ceramics has not increased for several years, but nevertheless it is possible to obtain significant improvements in performance through the use of tape-cast, functionally gradient materials (FGMs) in which controlled porosity is used to control the permittivity and heat capacity of the material. A model for the performance of such a material will be presented, and compared with experimentally determined properties of FGMs based on a modified-PZT pyroelectric ceramic. The use of ferroelectric thin films is offering considerable potential for low cost and high performance. It will be shown that the introduction of controlled amounts of porosity can have a significant positive effect on the relevant pyroelectric FoM.