This report illustrates the work carried out for the design of the DIRMI1 test chip including a series of uncooled thermoelectric infrared pixels. This chip will be fabricated with a frontside bulk micromachining process compatible with a standard CMOS technology (AMS 0.8um CYE CMOS process). The DIRMI1 chip includes several pixel architectures (that allow its individual test with or without using the integrated readout circuitry) in order to determine which option provides better results in terms of the different performance parameters. A heater element has been included in all pixel designs to provide an electrical test signal, which will allow the characterization of the thermal behavior of the different pixels arrangements without the need of special infrared sources and the associated optical equipment. The report will start with a slight introduction to the basics of the infrared thermal detectors and their implementation using standard microelectronic procedures. After that, an overview of the thermal design issues to be considered in thermal sensor arrays will be given, highlighting some aspects of the realization of these arrays using the bulk or surface micromachining technologies. The method to be used for thermal modeling and simulation of the thermoelectric sensors has been also sketched. After that, the particular characteristic of the CMOS fabrication process used for the fabrication will be described in detail, together with the geometry of the different pixel architectures designed. This description will provide the diverse parameters that are required to perform the simulation of the thermal behavior of the different choices. Such a thermal simulation, based on the finite element method (FEM), has been performed to provide an estimation of the performance expected for the different designs. To conclude, it will be described the arrangement used in the chip DIRMI1 that will allow the separate test of the infrared pixels and the readout electronics, as well as all their possible combinations. The experimental results obtained with the devices included in the chip will be reported in a successive DIRMI1 experimental report
Development of Infrared Microsensors for Imaging Applications. Design and Simulation of CMOS Thermoelectric Infrared Pixels: DIRMI1
Viarani, Nicola
2003-01-01
Abstract
This report illustrates the work carried out for the design of the DIRMI1 test chip including a series of uncooled thermoelectric infrared pixels. This chip will be fabricated with a frontside bulk micromachining process compatible with a standard CMOS technology (AMS 0.8um CYE CMOS process). The DIRMI1 chip includes several pixel architectures (that allow its individual test with or without using the integrated readout circuitry) in order to determine which option provides better results in terms of the different performance parameters. A heater element has been included in all pixel designs to provide an electrical test signal, which will allow the characterization of the thermal behavior of the different pixels arrangements without the need of special infrared sources and the associated optical equipment. The report will start with a slight introduction to the basics of the infrared thermal detectors and their implementation using standard microelectronic procedures. After that, an overview of the thermal design issues to be considered in thermal sensor arrays will be given, highlighting some aspects of the realization of these arrays using the bulk or surface micromachining technologies. The method to be used for thermal modeling and simulation of the thermoelectric sensors has been also sketched. After that, the particular characteristic of the CMOS fabrication process used for the fabrication will be described in detail, together with the geometry of the different pixel architectures designed. This description will provide the diverse parameters that are required to perform the simulation of the thermal behavior of the different choices. Such a thermal simulation, based on the finite element method (FEM), has been performed to provide an estimation of the performance expected for the different designs. To conclude, it will be described the arrangement used in the chip DIRMI1 that will allow the separate test of the infrared pixels and the readout electronics, as well as all their possible combinations. The experimental results obtained with the devices included in the chip will be reported in a successive DIRMI1 experimental reportI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
