For the Internet of things born: zero-power infrared detectors come out

Currently, advanced sensor technology relies on active electronic devices for signal acquisition and processing. In order to be able to capture meaningful signals in the immediate surroundings, such as specific vibrations, sounds or spectra, these sensors must always be in working order. This operating characteristic of continuously consuming power, regardless of whether the signal under test occurs, greatly limits the lifetime of a single sensor, thereby significantly increasing the maintenance cost of the entire sensor network (or IoT) due to periodic battery replacement or even Limiting the possibility of arranging sensors in remote or potentially dangerous areas.

According to the firm's advisory opinion, a research team led by Matteo Rinaldi, a professor at Northeastern University, recently developed a zero-power infrared detector. This zero-power infrared detector maintains a zero-power sleep state before a meaningful signal is detected, uses its own energy to drive a thermal micromechanical switch after the infrared signature signal reaches the device and, in turn, Turning on the load circuit begins to work so that the entire sensor node is "awakened" only when a particular infrared spectrum appears.

Figure 1 zero-power infrared detector structure diagram

The zero-power infrared detector is essentially based on a micro-mechanical optical switch technology, Northeastern University researchers called "plasma enhanced micromechanical light switch (Plasmonically-enhanced Micromechanical Photoswitches)." The device's design clever use of the plasma metamaterials, optics, heat conduction, mechanics, micromachining and other physical principles and engineering. As shown in Fig. 1, the microstructure thereof includes two symmetrical release cantilevers, each of which includes an Absorbing head or Reflecting head, a pair of heat-sensitive dual-material inner arms for performing driving, A pair of identical bi-material arms for temperature and stress compensation, and a pair of insulated wires that connect the inner and outer arms. The infrared absorption end of the plasma is a sandwich structure of metal-insulator-metal. The upper layer is a plasma nanostructure (50 nm gold patch) with a line width controlled by lithography. The middle layer is a 100 nm silicon dioxide dielectric layer, and the lower layer is 100nm Platinum reflective layer. The absorber end also contains a high hardness cup-shaped platinum contact electrically connected to an input / output terminal of the device. On the other end of the cantilever, there is another input / output terminal of the metal contact device. The distance between the platinum metal contact and the contact pad is about 500 nm.

Figure 2 Nortel University developed a zero-power infrared detector of the plasma infrared absorption region and the metal switch contact details (scanning electron microscopy). Source: NS & NS Laboratory, Northeastern University

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