CMOS-SOI-NEMS uncooled infrared presence sensor

Previous reports of various IEEE conferences have described a new generation of uncooled passive infrared (PIR) security sensors based on a suspended transistor (TMOS) fabricated in standard CMOS-SOI process and released by post-etching. The patented technology is now under development for commercial applications. This study focuses on the design and performance of a small sensing array, known as a presence sensor, which is required for the detection of people in smart homes and has a wide range of applications in smart homes. The spatial resolution of this technology demonstrator is limited because of the relatively small number of pixels, but the thermal performance is excellent, with pixel NETD of ∼20mK. For the complete system with readout the evaluated NETD is ∼35mK. Based on standard technology and outstanding performance of high sensitivity and ultralow power consumptions, this presence sensor has a huge potential for commercial applications.