Interferometer with absorbing layer
AssigneeMurata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
InventorVille Kaajakari
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A micromechanical Fabry-Perot interferometer is provided that includes an at least partly transparent substrate; an illuminated area where the light is passed through the substrate; a reflector on the top surface of the substrate in the illuminated area; an absorbing reflector layer above the reflector in the illuminated area, which absorbs at least some wavelengths of the infrared light; an arrangement for determining the temperature of the absorbing reflector layer; and at least one actuator to adjust the gap between the reflector and the absorbing reflector layer.
Claims22
An interferometer comprising:
- a substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface that oppose each other, the substrate being at least partly transparent;
- a reflector on the top surface of the substrate in an illuminated area where incoming electromagnetic radiation is passed through the substrate from the bottom surface to the top surface of the substrate;
- an absorbing reflector layer above the reflector and that is parallel to the reflector and faces the reflector in the illuminated area, the absorbing reflector layer including a top and a bottom surface that oppose each other, and the absorbing reflector layer being formed of a thin metal film configured to absorb at least some wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation;
- an arrangement configured to determine a temperature of the absorbing reflector layer;
- and
- an actuator in an actuation area that is configured to adjust a gap between the reflector and the absorbing reflector layer.
An interferometer comprising:
- a substrate that is at least partly transparent;
- a reflector on the substrate in an illuminated area where incoming electromagnetic radiation is passed through the substrate;
- an absorbing reflector layer that is parallel to the reflector and faces the reflector in the illuminated area, the absorbing reflector layer being formed of a thin metal film configured to absorb at least some wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation;
- an arrangement configured to determine a temperature of the absorbing reflector layer;
- and
- an actuator configured to adjust a gap between the reflector and the absorbing reflector layer.
A method for detecting infrared light with an interferometer that includes a partly transparent substrate, a reflector on the substrate in an illuminated area where incoming electromagnetic radiation is passed through the substrate, an absorbing reflector layer above the reflector and being formed of a thin metal film configured to absorb at least some wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation, an arrangement configured to determine a temperature of the absorbing reflector layer, and an actuator configured to adjust a gap between the reflector and the absorbing reflector layer, the method comprising:
- illuminating the absorbing reflector layer so that the infrared light enters from a bottom surface of the substrate to a bottom side of absorbing reflector layer;
- and
- determining the temperature of the absorbing reflector layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.