RADIATION SENSORS

Radiation sensors can be classified according to

the type and energy of the measurand, in which
the energy ER in electron volts (eV) of the
electromagnetic radiation is simply related to its
frequency f in Hertz, and wavelength in meters
by

where h is Planck's constant, c is the velocity of

light in a vacuum ( 3.0 x 108 m/s),
and e is the charge on an electron (i.e. 1.60 x 1019
C).
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RADIATION SENSORS

RADIATION SENSORS
Radiation microsensors can be distinguished by
their underlying operating principle
Photoconductive
Photovoltaic or Photoelectric
Pyroelectric
microantenna

Photoconductive Devices
The radiation excites a number of electrons from the valence band
of a semiconductor material into its conduction band and thus
creates both electrons and holes that can contribute to the
conduction process.

This Photoconductive effect is the dominant process when the

energy of the radiation is above the band gap energy of the
semiconducting material.
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Photoconductive Devices
If the radiation produces Nt carriers per second in a slab of
material of length l, width w, and depth d, its change in electrical
conductivity and change in electrical conductance G is given
by

where n and p are the mobilities of the electrons and holes and n
and p are their lifetimes. The conductance I/V o can be measured in
a constant voltage Vo circuit with the cell resistance typically falling
almost linearly with luminance from mega ohms in the dark (band
gap exceeds the 1/40th eV of thermal energy at room temperature)
to a few ohms.

Photoconductive Devices
The response of a photoconductive cell to radiation is determined by
the choice of semiconducting material. Cadmium sulfide is commonly
used to make a photoconductive cell for the visible region (0.4 to 0.7
u.m) because it is inexpensive and easy to process, although other
materials are used for IR photoconductors, such as PbS with a peak
response at 2.2 m, PbSe with a peak response at 2.2 m, and
HgCdTe (MCT) with a response tailored within the range of 12 to 16
m.
Photoconductive cells are
commercially available at
low
cost
and
are
commonly employed in a
wide range of applications;
examples include lightactivated
switches
for
night lights, dimmers, and
children's toys.

Photovoltaic Devices
Photovoltaic, or photoelectric, sensors form the second class of
radiation microsensors and are potentiometric radiation sensors.
The basic principle is that the radiation (i.e. photons) induces a
voltage across a semiconductor junction; this effect is known as the
photovoltaic effect. The materials most commonly used to make
photovoltaic sensors are Si for the visible/NIR region, and Ge,
InGaAs, InAs, or InSb for the NIR-to-IR region.
The most obvious advantage of a photovoltaic cell over a
photoconductive cell is that it is compatible with a bipolar process
(e.g. Si or GaAs). However, the reduced size and integrated
electronics lead to a higher sensitivity, faster response time (s
instead of ms), and better stability.
Photosensitive diodes, known as photodiodes, can be made in a
standard vertical bipolar process such as a p-n diode, or variations
on this process, such as a p-Si/insulator/n-Si PIN diode, Schottkytype diode, and silicon avalanche diode

Photovoltaic Devices

Photovoltaic Devices
The basic principle of all these photodiodes is that the photon creates
an electron-hole pair in the space-charge region of the junction. These
charges are then separated by the local field to the different doped
regions, and they modify the diode voltage Vd. The diode voltage is the
open circuit voltage Voc and can be measured by reverse-biasing the
diode and finding the voltage dropped across a high external load
resistor RL. Then the output voltage is given by

where IR is the photocurrent and is proportional to the intensity of

incident radiation and, Is is the reverse saturation current. Indeed, this
equation is the same one that applied to a thermodiode and so the
device will normally be temperature-sensitive. Thus, the performance of
a photodiode can be improved by either running it at a constant voltage
- as low as possible to reduce junction noise - or it must be temperaturecompensated.
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Pyroelectric Devices
A pyroelectric material can also be used to make
a coulombic radiation sensor and it works on the
principle that the radiation heats up the surface of
a pyroelectric crystal (usually LiTaO3) and reduces
the normal polarisation state of the crystal,
thereby inducing the charge to flow off its surface
and creating a voltage.
Pyroelectric sensors are not very sensitive to the wavelength of
the radiation and cover a wide dynamic range in the IR spectrum.
Pyroelectric sensors are best-suited for detecting short-term
changes in the IR signal
The most popular application is to detect the slow movement of
a human body in a burglar alarm system.
The use of a band-pass filter removes sensor drift caused by
changes in the ambient conditions.

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Microantenna
Microwave or short-wavelength radio waves can be detected using a
small metal strip patterned using UV lithography onto a planar
surface. The miniature antenna can detect low-energy microwave
signals with a suitable design of the loop. The signal can then be
used, to generate a SAW in a piezoelectric material for a wireless
mechanical sensor or simply to sense the electrical signal and pass
it onto a decoder

Wireless communication and powering of a SAW-IDT

microsensor with an aluminum microantenna

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