Omron Reveals Non-Contact D6T MEMS Thermal Sensor
Japanese firm Omron Corporation has released the D6T non-contact MEMS thermal sensor. This is a super-sensitive infrared temperature sensor that makes full use of Omron's proprietary MEMS sensing technology.
Applications suited to the sensor include energy-saving household appliances such as lighting systems, refrigerators, microwave ovens and air conditioners. The D6T can also be used in building and office energy conservation systems as well as security systems. Other uses are in factory automation where food product temperature control and irregular temperature detection is important.
Thermal sensors measure temperature by receiving energy radiated from target objects on thermopile elements. Through the use of ASICs and thermopile elements fabricated with MEMS technology, Omron has created a miniature non-contact thermal sensor.
Thermal sensors work on the "Seebeck effect" in which thermoelectric force is generated due to the temperature difference at the contact points between two different kinds of metal. A thermopile is created by serially connecting thermocouples consisting of N+ poly Si , P+ poly Si, and Al. By creating hot junctions on highly heat-resistant dielectric membranes, and cold junctions on highly heat-conductive silicon, it is possible to achieve high-speed response and high-energy conversion efficiency (infrared rays "“ temperature "“ thermoelectric force).
Unlike typical pyroelectric human presence sensors that rely on motion detection, Omron says its D6T thermal sensor is able to detect the presence of stationary humans by detecting body heat, and can therefore be used to automatically switch off unnecessary lighting, air conditioning, among other things when people are not present.
As the D6T sensor is able to monitor the temperature of a room, it can also be used to continually maintain optimal room temperature levels and instantly sense unusual changes in temperature. This makes it useful in detecting factory line stoppages, or discover areas of overheating for early prevention of fire outbreaks.
While standard thermal sensors are only able to
measure temperature at one certain contact point, the D6T can measure the
temperature of an entire area without contact. Signals generated by infrared
rays are usually extremely weak, and high-sensitivity detection is therefore
very difficult to achieve.
Omron managed to overcome this hurdle by developing and manufacturing in-house every part of the new thermal sensor, from the MEMS sensors to ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) and other application-specific parts, specifically with the aim of ensuring that the D6T is capable of highly sensitive detection.
The D6T thermal sensor will be demonstrated at the Micromachine/MEMS ROBOTECH 2012 exhibition at Tokyo Big Sight from Wednesday July 11th to Friday July 13th.
