EP0485401A1

EP0485401A1 - Thermopile radiation detector

Info

Publication number: EP0485401A1
Application number: EP90910570A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hartmut Schmidt; Frank Beerwerth; Simon Middelhoek; Alexander Willem Van Herwarrden; Pasqualina Maria Sarro
Original assignee: Braun GmbH
Current assignee: Braun GmbH
Priority date: 1989-08-01
Filing date: 1990-07-27
Publication date: 1992-05-20
Also published as: WO1991002229A1; DE3925391A1; DE4091364C1; DE4091364D2

Abstract

Un détecteur de rayonnement à thermopiles comprend des thermoéléments formés sur une puce de silicium. Celle-ci est réalisée par des procédés micromécaniques utilisés dans la fabrication des circuits intégrés. Une puce de silicium (1) en forme de plaquette, initialement relativement épaisse subit un enlèvement de matière, ce qui laisse une bordure relativement épaisse (2) et une bandelette (3) sinueuse ou spiralée relativement mince qui est articulée uniquement par son extrémité (13) à la bordure (2). Les thermocontacts dits ''froids'' sont situés sur la bordure (2) de la puce (1) dans la région de l'extrémité (13) de la bandelette (3) et les thermocontacts dits ''chauds'' sont situés sur l'autre extrémité libre (14) de la bandelette mince (3). Cette configuration permet de produire un signal thermoélectrique relativement important pour un rayonnement infrarouge donné, même pour une surface de puce relativement faible.A thermopile radiation detector includes thermoelements formed on a silicon chip. This is carried out by micromechanical processes used in the manufacture of integrated circuits. A wafer-shaped silicon chip (1), initially relatively thick, undergoes material removal, which leaves a relatively thick border (2) and a relatively thin sinuous or spiral strip (3) which is articulated only by its end ( 13) to the edge (2). The so-called ''cold'' thermocontacts are located on the edge (2) of the chip (1) in the region of the end (13) of the strip (3) and the so-called ''hot'' thermocontacts are located on the other free end (14) of the thin strip (3). This configuration makes it possible to produce a relatively large thermoelectric signal for a given infrared radiation, even for a relatively small chip surface.

Description

Thermopile radiation detector

The invention relates to a thermopile radiation detector according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

Thermopile radiation detectors consist of several thermocouples connected in series and are often used to measure the intensity of infrared radiation. For each thermocouple, heat is supplied to one of two so-called "thermal contacts", namely the so-called "hot" thermal contact, by exposing one radiation-receiving surface to infrared radiation, while the other, so-called "cold" thermal contact Radiation is protected. The size of the thermoelectric signal generated by the thermopile radiation detector increases with the intensity of the infrared radiation impinging on the radiation-receiving surface.

Basically, the absorber, thermal resistance and heat sink of a thermopile radiation detector must be adapted to the type of infrared radiation to be detected. In the simplest case, the hot thermal contacts themselves serve as absorbers, the connecting lines between hot and cold thermal contacts as heat resistance, while the heat sink consists of a metal ring that is in good thermal contact with the cold thermal contacts.

The absorber should be so well thermally insulated that almost nothing is given off to the environment by the heat flow, so that it almost completely flows to the heat sink via the thermal resistance.

Such a thermopile radiation detector is known, for example, from the product description S07 from Isabellenhütte, Postfach 1453, D-6430 Dillenburg. The thermal column radiation detector consists of 16 Cu-CuN thermocouples connected in series, which are sealed between two Kapton foils (thickness 25-50 ΛΛ m). The hot thermal contacts of the thermocouples are evenly distributed on a circular surface (6 mm diameter), while the cold thermal contacts are arranged on a circle with a 10 mm diameter.

This thermopile radiation detector then delivers a thermoelectric signal when there is a temperature difference between the internal (hot) and the external (cold) thermo contacts. The temperature difference is generated by the infrared radiation impinging on the hot thermal contacts, which is converted into heat in the Kapton films acting as absorbers and is dissipated into a heat sink (heat sink) via a thermal resistor.

In view of the low sensitivity, the production of the thermopile radiation detector known from the product description mentioned is relatively complex and therefore expensive.

From the magazine "Measure ent", Vol. 6, No. 1, Jan.- ar. 1988, pages 2 ff., A thermopile radiation detector manufactured using thin-film technology is known, which is applied to a so-called "substrate" consisting of silicon, in the following the one with the thermopile radiation detector provided substrate is referred to as a "chip". To produce the chip, methods known from the manufacture of integrated circuits and from micromechanics, such as anisotropic etching, are used.

The radiation-receiving surface of the thermopile radiation detector known from the magazine "Measurement" is attached to a membrane made of silicon nitrite (Si-J.) and quartz (Si0 ₂ ), which is produced by anisotropic etching becomes. Bismuth / antimony thermal contacts are used to generate the thermoelectric signal. This thermopile radiation detector has the advantage that the thermoelectric signal is relatively high due to the low thermal conductivity of the membrane. On the other hand, this thermopile radiation detector has the disadvantage that it is difficult to manufacture and the chip can easily be damaged during its handling during the manufacturing process. In addition, the chip to be used for such a thermopile radiation detector

2 still has a relatively large area of over 9 mm.

From the dissertation by P.M. Sarro (Technical University Delft in Holland, October 1, 1987) is known to have a further thermopile radiation detector (see, for example, pages 68 and 86), in which the radiation-receiving surface is no longer mechanically and therefore thermally connected to the substrate on all sides Membrane, but at the end of one or more cantileve beam infrared detector which extends in the interior of the substrate, which otherwise only consists of four borders. Such a cantilever is designed to be considerably thinner than the four enclosures delimiting the inner region of the chip.

In addition to the advantages which consist in the fact that it can be produced using standard methods known from the manufacture of integrated circuits, the thermopile radiation detector known from the aforementioned dissertation gives only a relative one in relation to the relatively large chip area small thermoelectric signal, which is disadvantageous in view of the fact that the size of the area of the chip directly determines its price (small chip area = low price). The reason for the relatively small thermoelectric signal is the radiation receiving area, which is too small in relation to the thermal resistance of the cantilever. Thermopiles can also be used to measure the pressure for pressures below about 10 kPa in gas-filled containers. The decisive difference to the radiation-detecting thermopiles is that the thermal resistance of a surface-like structure to the surrounding gas is used as a measure of the changing pressure of the gas. For this purpose, the flat structure is heated in such a way that a heat flow which is constant over time via the variable thermal resistance of the surrounding gas produces a temperature difference between the flat structure and the surroundings. This usually very small temperature difference is converted into an electrical signal using a thermopile.

From the dissertation by A. W. van Herwaarden (Technical University Delft in Holland, June 24, 1987, see e.g. page 41) umi J. Vax. Be. Techn. A5_ 2454 (1987)) a thermopile for measuring pressure in a vacuum is known, in which the surface in thermal contact with the gas is not applied to a membrane that is mechanically and thus thermally connected to the substrate on all sides, but to an inside of the membrane Chips floating membrane suspended on four webs ("floating membrane").

If one were to use such an arrangement as a radiation detector, this would be unsuitable for this, since due to the large number (four) and the relatively short length of the webs, the thermal resistance between the radiation-receiving surface and the heat sink is very small. However, a small thermal resistance basically reduces the sensitivity of the radiation detector. However, since it is fundamentally desirable to keep the entire surface of a thermopile radiation detector and thus also its radiation-receiving area small, a sufficiently large thermoelectric signal is no longer available with relatively small thermal resistances. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an even more economical thermopile radiation detector in which ^" on the one hand the chip area is further reduced and on the other hand emits an even larger thermoelectric signal without impairing its functionality.

This object is achieved for a thermopile radiation detector according to the preamble of claim 1 by the features contained in the characterizing part thereof.

The fact that the radiation-receiving surface is formed on the free end of a spiral or meandering thin band and is thus connected to the edge of the chip by means of a thermal resistance of extremely low thermal conductivity, results in a thermopile radiation detector with a minimal chip area but good thermal efficiency. ie a relatively large thermoelectric signal for a given infrared radiation.

The meandering or spiral course of the tape has the advantage that the area required for the entire chip is less. Furthermore, the radiation-receiving surface can be arranged in the center of the chip in the case of a spiral formation of the band, which allows a simple rotationally symmetrical structure.

If a band is selected which has a small width in comparison to the longitudinal dimensions of the radiation-receiving surface (claim 2), its thermal conductivity is further reduced, which further increases the efficiency of the thermopile radiation detector.

The fact that the conductor tracks are arranged on the tape (claim 3) results in the advantage that the material of the tape can be determined independently of the choice of materials for the thermal contacts. It is advantageous if the tape is provided with holes or slits in those areas in which there are no conductor tracks (claim 4). This further reduces the thermal conductivity and increases the detector signal. This is very important when using monocrystalline silicon as the strip material, since this has a higher thermal conductivity - which would be disadvantageous when the strip is closed - than polycrystalline silicon with better mechanical properties (strength) - which is advantageous when the strip is closed is - has.

In order to achieve a small space requirement for the overall chip and the associated cost advantage, it is proposed to arrange the two conductor tracks leading to thermal contact on the βantf one above the other (claim 5), with an insulating layer, for example made of silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) or silicon nitride (SigNi ^). The insulating layer has openings in the area of the thermal contacts, within which the two interconnects touch.

It is furthermore advantageous that doped silicon on the one hand and a metal as thermoelectric materials are used for both the cold and the hot ™ thermal contacts (claim 6), since such an arrangement uses standard methods known from the manufacture of integrated circuits (CMOS or bipolar) can be produced.

If one chooses poly- or monocrystalline or amorphous silicon or silicon dioxide (Si0 ₂ ) or silicon nitride (SύN.) For the material of the strip (see claim 7), there is the advantage that it has a particularly low thermal conductivity, which leads to a Increases the thermoelectric signal leads. If the band is made from monocrystalline, n-doped silicon (claim 8), there is the advantage that the material of the band does not have to be applied to the wafer in an additional process step. The epitaxial layer made of n-doped silicon, which is anyway necessary for the production of the radiation-receiving surface, serves at the same time as the base material for the strip.

Because p-doped silicon and aluminum on the one hand are used as thermoelectric materials in both thermo contacts (claim 9), processes can be used which are known from the manufacture of integrated circuits, the particular advantage lies in the temperature independence of the thermoelectric coefficient with a suitably chosen doping of the silicon.

In order to get by with only one mask for the conductor tracks and the contacts, the conductor tracks used for connecting the thermocouples in series can be made of the same material as the corresponding contact surfaces of the thermal contacts themselves (claim 10). This leads to cost savings, since the number of masks is reduced and a manufacturing step is also omitted in the further manufacturing process.

A suspension of the radiation-sensitive surface on a single band is not easy to carry out. The layer structure on the chip must be matched to the materials and the layer thicknesses, since otherwise the tape can warp or warp due to internal tensions. However, a thermopile radiation detector with deformed bands is unusable. If one chooses materials for an arrangement according to claim 5 for the tape, the insulating layer, the thermal contacts and the conductor tracks according to claims 8-11 and if one bases their dimensioning on dimensions according to claim 12, the two can be described below Compensate the effects described so far that warping or warping no longer occur. It is known from thin-film technology that layers which are produced by vapor deposition of a substrate build up considerable stresses during the condensation. The reason for this is that the materials for vapor deposition are considerably hotter than the substrate; when cooling, tensile stresses will occur, for example, on aluminum on silicon.

In contrast, the group consisting of S 0 ₂ insulating layer formed in the production on the substrate Siliziu voltages Druck¬. The reason for this is that the SiO is produced on the silicon substrate at higher temperatures (greater than ambient temperature). A compressive stress develops when cooling, since the thermal expansion coefficient of SiO “is significantly smaller than that of silicon.

In order to achieve a flat design of the thermopile radiation detector without warping, the SiO 2 must therefore be as thin as possible. Furthermore, the thickness and width of the aluminum conductor tracks should be as small as possible in order to minimize the stresses.

It is further provided (claim 13) that the radiation-receiving surface is circular and is covered in the region of the openings with a layer that is well absorbing infrared radiation in order to increase the thermal voltage.

If the radiation-receiving surface is provided with a dielectric layer for increasing the absorption or with an antireflection layer in connection with a suitable doping of the base material (claim 14), it is possible to use a thermopile radiation detector with a wavelength-dependent Em - to make sensitive. With such a thermopile radiation detector, it is then possible to use additional filters to selectively select the wavelength of interest. in the area of the incident radiation, which makes the manufacture significantly cheaper.

In a further development of the invention it is provided (claim 15) that an electronic component is attached to measure the temperature of the edge of the chip on one of its borders, in which at least one material property changes to a known extent with its temperature. The component supplies an input signal for a compensation circuit in order to compensate for the temperature dependence of the thermal voltage that exists in certain pairs of thermoelectric contacts.

It is also advantageous to additionally arrange an electronic circuit on the edge of the chip, which amplifies the thermoelectric signal, if necessary linearises it and / or compensates for it (Claim 16), in order to combine very weak infrared radiation emitted by a distant object convert the electrical signal proportional to the temperature of the object with a voltage level of the size of a few volts.

The invention is described below using an exemplary embodiment. The drawing shows:

1 shows the schematic structure of the thermopile radiation detector according to the invention with a spiral band,

La in a schematic representation a top view of a thermopile radiation detector according to the invention with a meandering band,

2 shows a partially represented section through the radiation-receiving surface along the direction denoted by AA in FIG. 1 and, in a perspective representation, the partial course of the strip including the conductor tracks attached to it, 3a and 3b the schematic course of the two conductor tracks arranged on the tape.

1 shows a square-shaped chip 1 made of monocrystalline, p-doped silicon with a total thickness in the range of 300-750 / um, which has a layer of n-doped silicon on its entire surface Ver¬ thickness of 5-10 / um see and the edge is designated 2. The chip 1 can be produced using methods known from the manufacture of integrated circuits and serves as the starting product (substrate) for the manufacture of the thermopile radiation detector according to the invention. The width and the length of the chip 1 are each approximately

2 2 mm, so that it has an area of approximately 4 mm.

Also again by means of micromechanical processes known from the manufacture of integrated circuits, for example etching, the chip 1 originally formed as a square cuboid is further processed in such a way that it only has four borders 2 ', 2 ", 2 at its edge 2 '", 2" "with an unchanged thickness of 300-750 // m, which delimit a rectangle. In order to make the spatial structure of the chip 1 recognizable at least schematically, the border 2 'of the chip 1 which runs to the right in FIG. 1 is shown broken away, although all four borders 2', 2 ", 2 '", 2 "" of the square chip 1 are continuously formed.

After using further, corresponding micromechanical methods, a strip 3 which is articulated at right angles and then bent three times clockwise in the clockwise direction remains on the bezel 2 'and consists entirely of monocrystalline, n-doped silicon. A disk-shaped body is formed on the free end of the band 3, on which the radiation-receiving surface 4 is produced by further method steps becomes. The thickness of the band 3 and the disc-shaped body is of the order of 5 / ^ m, so that originally about 300-780 / 411. a considerable proportion of the thick substrate is removed, for example etched away. The approximately 130 µm wide band 3 is guided along the borders 2 ', 2 ", 2"', 2 "" in such a way that a gap 5 is present between the relevant border and the band 3.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the band 3 can be slotted, perforated or provided with other cutouts. The material removal carried out in this way has the purpose of further reducing the thermal conductivity of the strip 3, without the mechanical stability being decisively impaired.

In a further embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 a, the band can be meandering. As in the case of a spiral configuration, the same advantages essential to the invention come into play again, namely that a thermopile radiation detector with a high sensitivity is produced with a large length of the belt and at the same time a minimal space requirement. The radiation-receiving surface lies outside the center of the chip, which can be advantageous if one deliberately wants to attach it outside the axis of symmetry of the chip. This is e.g. This is the case, for example, if only the radiation incident on the thermopile radiation detector outside its axis of symmetry is to be measured.

In FIG. 1 a, the elements of the thermopile radiation detector which correspond to one another are designated by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1.

Fig. 2 shows the basic structure of the hot thermal contacts of the thermopile radiation detector. Over the entire course of the band 3 are in total n-doped silicon material six trough-shaped deposits 6 with p-doped silicon arranged parallel to each other. The inclusions 6 extend from the disc-shaped body over the end 14 of the band 3 facing it, along the entire band 3 over the end 13 of the band 3 facing the edge 2 to the socket 2 'of the chip 1. The embedded, p- doped silicon forms conductor tracks 10b (cf. FIG. 3b), of which a total of six are arranged on the band 3 and of which only the ends 7 thereof can be seen in FIG. 2.

The p-doped silicon in the deposits 6 is produced using known methods, for example diffusion or ion implantation methods.

Furthermore, it can be seen from FIG. 2 that about 0.15> s.π each above the band 3 except for openings 8 present in the area of the interface AA. thick, electrically insulating layer 9 of silicon dioxide (SiO ^) is attached, the width of which corresponds approximately to the width of the band 3. The openings 8 have the purpose that there the ends 15 of further, made of aluminum and running on the insulating layer 9 conductor tracks 10a (see also Fig. 3a) with the corresponding ends 7 of the conductor tracks 10b made of p-doped silicon in electrical Get in touch. The resulting electrical connection between the conductor tracks 10a and 10b forms the hot thermal contact of the thermocouples, of which only three out of a total of six are shown in FIG. 2. The thickness or maximum thickness of the strip conductors 10a and 10b is about 0, ^β ^ m, its width or maximum width of about 12 _/ wm.

If the band 3 is cut along the direction designated BB ¹ in FIG. 1, a sectional image is obtained which is largely identical to that along the direction AA 'and the elements of which are also again using an ion or a diffusion method be generated. The only difference is that the border 2 ^{1 is} much thicker (between 300-750 ^ m) than the radiation-receiving surface 4 (thickness about δ ^ m). The arrangement at the transition from the band 3 to the first enclosure 2 'contains the cold thermal contacts of the thermopile radiation detector.

3a and 3b the course of the conductor tracks 10a and 10b is shown schematically, which extend along the strip 3. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2, there are six conductor tracks each. The strip conductors 10a and 10b are electrically contacted by means of a first and second contact tail ^"11 and 12, wherein the first contact tab 11 with an existing aluminum conductor path 10a and the second contact lug 12 existing with a doped p-silicon conductor electrically connected. Thus, the thermopile radiation detector described has six thermocouples connected in series and consisting of a combination of p-doped silicon and aluminum.

In further embodiments of the invention, the thermal contacts can be made from other elements, e.g. n-doped polysilicon or gold. Furthermore, parts of the chip 1 (e.g. the tape 3) can be made of polysilicon or other materials, e.g. Silicon dioxide (SiO,) or silicon nitride (Si N, be built up.

In order to absorb as much radiation energy as possible from the incident infrared radiation, the entire radiation-receiving surface 4 is covered with a layer (not shown), which is made of carbon black or, in another embodiment, for wavelength-selective absorption from a dielectric layer or from dielectric material exists, which has antireflective properties in the infrared radiation range. Furthermore, a is not shown in the figures Housing surrounding chip 1, which is filled with a protective gas, for example xenon, and is sealed gas-tight to the outside.

In addition, "can the ^chip" on the fencing 2 "of the edge 2 1 may be arranged a diode, a resistor or other element to be able to measure at this point the temperature. In this case one exploits the fact that the components mentioned material properties The enclosure V can also be provided with an electronic circuit which amplifies the sensor signal, if necessary temperature-compensated and / or linearized.

Claims

1. Thermopile radiation detector with a plurality of thermocouples electrically connected in series and formed on a chip made of silicon, silicon being removed from the originally plate-shaped chip in such a way that, in addition to an edge formed by several borders, the body has a high thermal capacity forms, there remains only a projection connected to the edge, which extends in the interior of the mounts and acts as a thermal resistance, the thickness of which is considerably below that of the edge and at the end connected to the edge the cold thermal contacts and at its end Free end, the hot thermal contacts of the thermocouples are formed and a radiation-receiving surface is formed, the hot and cold thermal contacts being electrically connected to one another by conductor tracks, characterized in that the projection is meandering or spiral-shaped

Band (3) is formed.

2. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 1, d a d u r c h g e k e n e z e i c h n e that the band (3) compared to the longitudinal dimensions of the radiation-receiving surface (4) has a small width.

3. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 1, characterized in that the conductor tracks (10a, 1Ob) are arranged on the belt (3). - 16 -

4. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 3, d a d u r c h g e k e n n e e c h n e t that the band (3) in those areas in which no conductor tracks (10a, 10b) run, is provided with holes or slots.

5. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 3, dadu rc characterized in that the two conductor tracks (10a, 10b) leading to a thermal contact on the belt (3) are arranged one above the other, with all conductor tracks (10a, 10b ) there is an insulating layer (9), and that the insulating layer (9) has openings (8) in the region of the cold and hot thermal contacts, within which the ends (15, 7) of the two conductor tracks (10a, 10b) touch.

6. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 1, d a d u r c h g e k e n n e c h n t that both doped silicon and a metal are used as thermoelectric materials for both the cold and the hot thermal contacts.

7. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 1, dadu rc hgekenn ze that the band (3) consists of silicon, silicon oxide (Si0 ₂ ) or silicon nitride (Sig.).

8. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 5, characterized in that the band (3) consists of monokri stall in n-doped silicon.

9. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 5, characterized in that ^' see thermoelectric materials in both Thermokon¬ contacts on the one hand p-doped silicon (7) and on the other hand aluminum (15) are used.

10. thermopile radiation detector according to claim 5, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the interconnects (10a, 10b) serving for the series connection of the thermocouples consist of the same material as the corresponding contact surfaces (15, 7) of the thermal contacts themselves.

11. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 5, characterized in that the insulating layer (9) consists of silicon dioxide (Si0 _? ).

12. Thermopile radiation detector according to claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the thickness of the insulating layer (9) about 0.15 ^ m, the thickness of the conductor tracks (10a, 10b) about 0.6 ym, the width of which Mμm, the thickness of the band (3) about δ ^ m, its width about 130 ^ 11. and that the diameter of the radiation-receiving area (4) is approximately 500 m.

13. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 5, characterized in that the radiation receiving surface (4) forms a circular shape and is formed up to the area of the openings (8) in such a way that it absorbs the infrared radiation impinging on it well.

14. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 12, characterized in that the radiation receiving surface (4) is coated with a layer of soot, with an absorbent dielectric layer or with a dielectric anti-reflective coating, in the latter case the radiation receiving surface (4) itself receives a high absorption capacity through appropriate doping.

15. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 1, characterized in that .Measuring the temperature of the edge (2) of the chip (1) on a T »of its bezels (2 ', 2", 2' ", 2" ") electronic component is attached, in which at least one material property changes to the known extent with its temperature.

16. Thermopile radiation detector according to claim 15, d a d u r c h g e k e n z e c h n e t that on the edge (2) of the chip (1) an additional electronic circuit is arranged which amplifies the thermoelectric signal, if necessary linearized and / or temperature compensated.