Today’s pyroelectric infrared detector is used by manufacturers around the world in gas sensors for leak detection, anesthesiology monitors, water quality, soil and plant monitoring, as well flame detectors for fire safety and furnace monitoring.

The thermally isolated Lithium Tantalate chip in an Infrared detector has a high curie temperature of 620°C which guarantees a low temperature coefficient with excellent long-term stability of the signal.

Clients recognize the quality built into an infrared detector from InfraTec. The cap is welded onto the device in a Nitrogen filled chamber for a hermetic seal assuring that no moisture or contaminants remain inside.

The sensing element in an infrared detector is a chip covered by a black absorption coating. This coating converts the infrared radiation falling on the chip to heat. The chip changes its temperature in the order of µK – mK, and as a result the pyroelectric effect produces an electrical signal.

Thermopiles also belong to this group of thermal detectors, however the output signal is weaker. A pyroelectric infrared detector can show a good signal/noise ratio up to modulation frequencies of 4 kHz, e.g. in FTIR spectrometers; thermopiles produce good results up to modulation frequencies of single Hertz only.

Pyroelectric infrared detectors can be influenced by rapid ambient temperature changes. Shock and vibration can produce phantom signals as well. InfraTec has infrared detector designs that have thermal compensation, and special patented chip mountings eliminate the effects of microphonics to provide clean quality signals and long device life.

Infrared Detectors are commonly used in applications for:

• gas leak sensing
• flame detection (fires) or monitoring (furnaces)
• anesthesiology gas monitoring
• climate control
• satellite orientation control
• water and steel quality
• electric generator monitoring (pole failures)
• breath detection of alcohol (DWI testing)
• soil quality testing in agriculture
• other environmental testing

FAQ - Answers to frequently asked questions about InfraTec's infrared detectors

• Standard infrared detectors - single channel
• Extended infrared detectors - single channel enhanced
• Multicolor infrared detectors - dual, triple and quad channel
• Variable color infrared detectors - scanning over a range of wavelengths

InfraTec offers the widest selection of pyroelectric infrared detector options available so you can select the optimum detector for your IR sensor.

Optional Features:
Low microphonic IR detectors
Tunable Filters - New MEMS Microspectrometer for Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy
Serial and Parallel Thermal Compensation
Integrated JFET or CMOS OpAmp Amplifiers
Beamsplitter Detectors

Standard and Custom Filter Windows Available:
Standard Filter & Window Selection
Custom Filters
Filter Curves (scans)
CO Absorption (natural) & Infratec's new NBP 4.74 µm/140nm{K}