A pyroelectric infrared sensor and a method of manufacturing a dual pyroelectric element used therein.

0001The present invention relates to a pyroelectric infrared sensor and to a method of manufacturing a pyroelectric infrared sensor comprising a package having a light-receiving window; at least two dual pyroelectric elements arranged in that package, each of the dual pyroelectric elements including first and second unit pyroelectric elements connected in series or in parallel with one another so as to have opposite polarities; the first and second unit pyroelectric elements of the at least two dual pyroelectric elements being substantially aligned with one another; each of the first and second unit pyroelectric elements being formed by a portion of a common pyroelectric film sandwiched between a respective first or second light-receiving electrode formed on a first surface of the pyroelectric film opposite the light-receiving window and a respective first or second back electrode formed on a second surface of the pyroelectric film opposite to the first surface thereof. Such a pyroelectric sensor is disclosed in European Application 0224595 (Nippon Ceramic Co.Ltd.).

0002High reliability is required for intrusion detection pyroelectric infrared sensors used in the fields of securities and automatic doors. Various extensive studies and developments have been made to satisfy the above requirement. U.S. Patent No. 3,839,640 discloses a pyroelectric infrared sensor within a pair of unit pyroelectric elements are connected in parallel or series with each other so as to have opposite polarities, thereby constituting a dual pyroelectric element and improving defects of generating detection errors caused by changes in room temperature and incidence of disturbing external light.

0003In a pyroelectric infrared sensor using one dual pyroelectric element, a detection error tends to occur in response to a strong electromagnetic wave used in a personal radio transmitter/receiver. In order to eliminate such an error, a pyroelectric infrared sensor having a multiple pyroelectric element consisting of a plurality of dual pyroelectric elements encapsulated in a common package has been developed. When this multiple pyroelectric element is used, a detection error is determined when the plurality of dual pyroelectric elements are simultaneously operated.

0004However, it is found that the pyroelectric infrared sensor using the multiple pyroelectric element described above has an unexpected defect of degradation in electrical characteristics against disturbing external light as compared with a pyroelectrical infrared sensor using one dual pyroelectric element.

0005Accordingly, the pyroelectric infrared sensor of the invention is characterized in that the first unit pyroelectric element of each dual pyroelectric element is opposite a central portion of the light-receiving window and the second unit pyroelectric element is opposite a peripheral portion of the light-receiving window, the first and second light-receiving electrodes and the first and second back electrodes being such that the effective light-receiving electrode area of the first unit pyroelectric element is smaller within a range of 1% to 15% than the effective light-receiving electrode area of the second unit pyroelectric element so as to compensate for a difference between the amount of secondary infrared rays incident on the first and second unit pyroelectric elements due to the difference between the angles of visibility of the first and second unit pyroelectric elements with respect to the light-receiving window.

0006A pyroelectric infrared sensor in accordance with the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which: <ul id="ul0001" list-style="none"><li>Fig.1 is a plan view of a pyroelectric infrared sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention;</li><li>Fig.2 is a sectional view showing the sensor of Fig.1 along the line II-II thereof;</li><li>Fig.3 is a bottom view of the sensor shown in Fig.1;</li><li>Fig.4 is an exploded perspective view showing the main part of the sensor shown in Fig.1;</li><li>Fig.5 is a wiring diagram showing a circuit arrangement of the sensor shown in Fig.1;</li><li>Fig.6 is a wiring diagram showing another circuit arrangement of the sensor shown in Fig.1; and</li><li>Fig.7 is a schematic view showing a test for detecting a detection error of a conventional pyroelectric infrared sensor upon incidence of disturbing external light.</li></ul>

0007Figs. 1 to 4 show a structure of a pyroelectric infrared sensor 1 according to the present invention.

0008Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, the sensor 1 comprises a package 2 comprised of a bottom plate 2a and a cap-like lid 2b mounted on the bottom plate 2a. A circuit board 3 mounted on the bottom plate 2a through terminal pins 4 to 7 is arranged in the package 2. The upper ends of the terminal pins 4 to 7 are connected to the circuit board 3, and the terminal pins 4 to 7 extend outside the package 2 through the bottom plate 2a.

0009An element mounting plate 11 is fixed on the upper surface of the circuit board 3. A multiple pyroelectric element 10 is mounted on the element mounting plate 11. FETs (Field Effect Transistors) 12a and 12b and the like are soldered on the lower surface (circuit pattern surface) of the circuit board 3. The multiple pyroelectric element 10 comprises a pyroelectric film 13, light-transmissive or light-absorptive electrodes (to be referred to as light-receiving electrodes hereinafter) 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b formed on the upper surface of the film 13, and back electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b (Fig. 2) formed on the lower surface of the film 13. The film 13 has a length of 15 mm, a width of 8 mm, and a thickness of 5 to 100 µm and consists of a polymeric ferroelectric substance such as PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) and a copolymer of VDF (vinylidene fluoride) with another monomer. The light-receiving electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b consist of a metal such as Ni, Cr or NiCr and have a thickness of, e.g., 0.001 to 0.02 µm each. The back electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b consist of a metal such as Al, Au, Ag or PtNi and have a thickness, e.g., 0.005 to 1.0 µm. The light-receiving electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b vertically overlap the back electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b. These overlapping portions constitute effective light-receiving electrode areas A, B, C and D (not shown).

0010The light-receiving electrode 14a, the back electrode 16a opposite thereto, and a portion of the pyroelectric film 13 which is sandwiched between the electrodes 14a and 16a constitute a unit pyroelectric element 20a. The light-receiving electrode 14b, the back electrode 16b opposite thereto, and a portion of the pyroelectric film 13 which is sandwiched between the electrodes 14b and 16b constitute a unit pyroelectric element 20b. The light-receiving electrode 15a, the back electrode 17a opposite thereto, and a portion of the pyroelectric film 13 which is sandwiched between the electrodes 15a and 17a constitute a unit pyroelectric element 21a. The light-receiving electrode 15b, the back electrode 17b opposite thereto, and a portion of the pyroelectric film 13 which is sandwiched between the electrodes 15b and 17b constitute a unit pyroelectric element 21b. The unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 20b are connected in series (Fig 5) or parallel (Fig. 6) with each other so as to have opposite polarities indicated by arrows in Figs. 5 and 6, thereby constituting a first dual pyroelectric element 22. Similarly, the unit pyroelectric elements 21a and 21b are connected in series or parallel with each other to constitute a second pyroelectric element 23. The above connections can be achieved by connecting the electrodes or by connecting the electrodes to a conductive pattern formed on the circuit board 3, by leads 18 integral or unintegral with the electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b or any other proper electric connecting means. The first and second dual pyroelectric elements 22 and 23 constitute the multiple pyroelectric element 10.

0011As shown in Fig. 4, a pair of through holes 24 and 25 are formed in the element mounting plate 11. The back electrodes 16a and 16b of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 20b correspond to the through hole 24, and the back electrodes 17a and 17b of the unit pyroelectric elements 21a and 21b correspond to the through hole 25. In this manner, the multiple pyroelectric element 10 is mounted on the element mounting plate 11.

0012An opening 26 which serves as a substantially rectangular light-receiving window is formed opposing the central portion of the upper surface of the lid 2b of the package 2. An infrared transmissive optical filter 27 consisting of silicon or the like is in contact with the inner surface of the lid 2b and is adhered inside the lid 2b by an appropriate adhesive 28.

0013Figs. 5 and 6 show circuit arrangements of the pyroelectric infrared sensor 1 according to the present invention.

0014Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the FETs 12a and 12b are connected in parallel with a power source V_D. The dual pyroelectric elements 22 and 23 and gate resistors R₁ and R₂ are connected in parallel with the gate electrodes of the FETs 12a and 12b. Moving object detection signals are extracted from the source electrodes of the FETs 12a and 12b through the terminal pins 4 and 5, respectively. The terminal pin 6 is grounded.

0015In the circuit arrangement shown in Fig. 5, the pair of unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 20b constituting the first dual pyroelectric element 22 and the pair of unit pyroelectric elements 21a and 21b constituting the second dual pyroelectric element 23 are connected in series with each other so as to have opposite spontaneous polarities as indicated by the arrows. In the circuit arrangement shown in Fig. 6, the pair of unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 20b constituting the first dual pyroelectric element 22 and the pair of unit pyroelectric elements 21a and 21b constituting the second dual pyroelectric element 23 are connected in parallel with each other so as to have opposite spontaneous polarities as indicated by the arrows.

0016The pyroelectric infrared sensor shown in Figs. 1 to 6 was conventionally manufactured such that the effective light-receiving electrode areas A, B, C and D of the pairs of unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 20b and 21a and 21b constituting the first and second dual pyroelectric elements 22 and 23 are substantially equal to each other. That is, since each of the light-receiving electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b and the back electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b had a length of 3 mm and a width of 1 mm, each of the effective light-receiving electrode areas A, B, C and D constituted by the overlapping portions of the electrodes was, e.g., 3 mm², which was substantially equal to each area of the corresponding electrodes. However, the conventional sensor has poor electrical characteristics against disturbing external light, and a detection error occurs upon. incidence of the disturbing external light.

0017The present inventors conducted a test for detecting an error caused by disturbing external light in the conventional pyroelectric infrared sensor in order to examine a cause of the error, as shown in Fig. 7.

0018Light from a lamp 30 such as a halogen lamp or an incandescent lamp was radiated on the pyroelectric infrared sensor 1 through a glass plate 31. Furthermore, infrared rays from the lamp 30 were absorbed by the glass plate 31, and only visible light was incident on the sensor 1. Furthermore, the visible light was reflected by the optical filter 27 (Fig. 2) mounted on the light-receiving window 26. The present inventors found that the glass plate 31 and the optical filter 27 absorbed visible light and the infrared rays from the lamp 30 output secondary infrared rays, thereby erroneously operating the sensor 1. More specifically, the present inventors found that the pair of unit pyroelectric elements connected to have opposite polarities and constituting each dual pyroelectric element had to be arranged to have identical response characteristics for the primary radiation from the lamp 30 as well as the dispersed secondary infrared rays incident from the portion around the sensor 1.

0019The present inventors also found that the unit pyroelectric elements 20b and 21a located opposing the central portion of the light-receiving window 26 had an angle of visibility larger than that of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 21b located opposing the peripheral portion of the light-receiving window 26 so that a larger amount of secondary infrared rays were incident on the unit pyroelectric elements 20b and 21a than that on the unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 21b. The present inventors therefore found that the dual pyroelectric elements 22 and 23 were erroneously operated when the effective light-receiving electrode areas A, B, C and D of the respective unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b were substantially equal to each other.

0020The pyroelectric infrared sensor according to the present invention is manufactured such that each of the effective light-receiving electrode areas B and C of the unit pyroelectric elements 20b and 21a located opposing the central portion of the light-receiving window 26 is slightly smaller than each of the effective light-receiving electrode areas A and D of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 21b located opposing the peripheral portion of the light-receiving window 26. At the time of manufacture of the multiple pyroelectric element 10, in order to compensate for a difference between the amounts of secondary infrared rays incident on the respective unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b, the effective light-receiving electrode areas A, B, C and D are designed to be decreased as the angles of visibility of these unit pyroelectric elements with respect to the light-receiving window 26 are larger. According to this design concept, the light-receiving electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b and the back electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b of the unit pyroelectric elements are formed. With this arrangement, the difference between the amounts of secondary infrared rays incident on the unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b is compensated, and good electrical characteristics of the dual pyroelectric element against the disturbing external light can be improved.

0021A ratio of decrease in each of the effective light-receiving areas B and C of the unit pyroelectric elements 20b and 21a located opposing the central portion with respect to each of the effective light-receiving areas A and D of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a and 21b located opposing the peripheral portion varies in accordance with the shape of the light-receiving window 26 of the sensor 3 and the arrangement conditions of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b, etc. However, in general, the ratio of decrease is preferably 1% or more and more preferably 2% or more. When each light-receiving area B or C is excessively decreased, a detection error may occur by a change in room temperature. Therefore, the ratio of decrease is preferably 15% or less and more preferably 8% or less. The lower and upper limit values also apply to a linear arrangement shown- in Fig. 1 in which the four unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the rectangular light-receiving window 26.

0022In the pyroelectric infrared sensor 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the effective light-receiving electrode areas of the unit pyroelectric elements 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b are preferably given as follows:<maths id="math0001"><math display="block"><mrow><mtext>A (= D) = 3.1 mm x 1.0 mm = 3.1 mm²</mtext></mrow></math><img file="EP0337692B1_D0001.tif" /></maths><maths id="math0002"><math display="block"><mrow><mtext>B (= C) = 3.0 mm x 1.0 mm = 3.0 mm²</mtext></mrow></math><img file="EP0337692B1_D0002.tif" /></maths> The light-receiving electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a and 15b and the back electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b of the unit pyroelectric elements are formed according to the above design concept. Each of the areas B and C is smaller than each of the areas A and D by about 3.3%. In the sensor 1 having the above arrangement, since the difference between the angles of visibility of the unit pyroelectric elements with respect to the light-receiving window 26 can be compensated, errors caused by secondary infrared rays and changes in room temperature do not occur.

0023The above embodiment uses a multiple pyroelectric element consisting of two dual pyroelectric elements. However, the present invention is also applicable to a multiple pyroelectric element using three or more dual pyroelectric elements. For example, when a multiple pyroelectric element having third and fourth dual pyroelectric elements formed between the first and second dual pyroelectric elements 22 and 23 and having the same arrangements as those of the first and second dual pyroelectric elements is used, the effective light-receiving electrode areas of pairs of unit pyroelectric elements constituting the third and fourth dual pyroelectric elements are changed as needed. More specifically, the effective light-receiving electrode area of one of the pair of unit pyroelectric elements is slightly changed with respect to the other of the pair of unit pyroelectric elements (e.g., 1% to 15%). The first and second dual pyroelectric elements 22 and 23 use the common pyroelectric film 13. However, separate pyroelectric films may be used for dual pyroelectric elements.

0024The present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described above. It should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention defined in the appended claims. For example, the size, shape, and material of the pyroelectric film 13 may be selected from any conventional size, shape, and material, or any other size, shape, and material. The material and thickness of the electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b may be selected from any conventional material and thickness or any other material and thickness. Various changes in arrangement of the electrodes 14a, 14b, 15a, and 15b and also in the arrangement of the electrodes 16a, 16b, 17a and 17b except for ones illustrated in Fig. 1 may be made. The shape and size, etc. of the light-receiving window 26 may be arbitrarily changed as needed. For example, an oval light-receiving window may be employed.