japan (march 2013) - to meet the demand for low-cost sensors with high s/n for gas analysis applications, hamamatsu photonics has developed a new series of thermopile infrared detectors.

the t11262-01 is a high-sensitivity thermopile sensor with a d* of 1.3×108. it is housed in a compact to-18 package with a high transmittance window in the 3-5µm band. the t11262-01 also benefits from a low element resistance and low temperature coefficient of element resistance (tcr).

thermopile sensors are created by connecting a number of thermocouples in series, where a thermocouple is a junction between two different metals that produces a voltage related to a temperature gradient across the junction.

the t11262-01 output is proportional to incident radiation (dc coupled) and the detector features very low impedance compared to a pyroelectric sensor. this allows for simplified associated circuitry for the thermopile and less affects from extraneous radiation and electrical noise.

with the addition of a bandpass filter the t11262-01 is an ideal sensor for use in a wide range of gas analysis applications as well as in process control and security applications, says the company.

for more information see http://www.hamamatsu.com/us/en/t11262-01.html