Thermal sensor with infrared absorption membrane including metamaterial structure

A thermal imaging device comprising:

• a thermal sensor including:
• a plurality of pixels, each said pixel including a reflector and a membrane including an infrared (IR) absorbing material that is fixedly disposed over and separated from the reflector such that coupling between the membrane and the reflector forms a Fabry-Pérot cavity, wherein the membrane defines a plurality of spaced-apart openings that are separated by micron-level distances;
• a readout circuit coupled to the plurality of pixels and configured to measure resistance changes in said membrane of each said pixel;
• an optical system configured to focus an IR image emitted from a target onto the plurality of pixels;
• and
• a device controller including image generation circuitry configured to process pixel data generated by the readout circuitry and configured to generate thermal image data corresponding to the IR image emitted by the target.

A system for standoff detection of a chemical that emits (IR) radiation having one or more associated wavelengths, the system comprising:

• at least one imaging device including:
• a thermal sensor including:
• a plurality of pixels, each said pixel including a reflector and a membrane comprising an infrared (IR) absorbing material that is fixedly disposed over and separated from the reflector such that coupling between the membrane and the reflector forms a Fabry-Pérot cavity, wherein the membrane defines a plurality of spaced-apart openings that are separated by micron-level distances,
• a readout circuit coupled to the plurality of pixels and configured to measure resistance changes in said membrane of each said pixel;
• an optical system configured to focus an IR image emitted from a target region onto the plurality of pixels;
• and
• a device controller including image generation circuitry configured to process pixel data generated by the readout circuitry and to generate thermal image data corresponding to the IR image emitted from the target region;
• and
• a system controller configured to receive and process the thermal image data generated by the at least one imaging device, and configured to generate spatial and spectral information regarding the chemical based on the thermal image data.