INFRARED AND THERMAL SENSORS

DIFINITION

• An infrared sensor is an electronic device, that emits in order to sense some

aspects of the surroundings. An IR sensor can measure the heat of an object
as well as detects the motion. These types of sensors measure only infrared
radiation, rather than emitting it that is called a passive IR sensor. Usually, in
the infrared spectrum, all the objects radiate some form of thermal radiation.
These types of radiations are invisible to our eyes, that can be detected by
an infrared sensor. The emitter is simply an IR LED (Light Emitting Diode)
and the detector is simply an IR photodiode that is sensitive to IR light of the
same wavelength as that emitted by the IR LED. When IR light falls on the
photodiode, the resistances and the output voltages will change in proportion
to the magnitude of the IR light received.
• An infrared thermometer is a device that measures the infrared radiation – a
type of electromagnetic radiation below the visible spectrum of light - emitted
by an object. The most basic design of infrared thermometers consists of a
lens to focus the infrared thermal radiation onto a detector, which converts
the radiant energy into an electric signal. This configuration facilitates
temperature measurement from a distance, without the need for contact with
the object to be measured. The device is useful for measuring temperature
under circumstances where thermocouples or other probe type sensors
cannot be used.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Infrared was discovered in 1800 by Sir William Herschel as a form of radiation beyond red light. These "infrared
rays" (infra is the Latin prefix for "below") were used mainly for thermal measurement.
• There are four basic laws of IR radiation: Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation, Stefan-Boltzmann law, Planck's law,
and Wien's displacement law. The development of detectors was mainly focused on the use of thermometers and
bolometers until World War I. A significant step in the development of detectors occurred in 1829, when Leopoldo
Nobili, using the Seebeck effect, created the first known thermocouple, fabricating an improved thermometer, a
crude thermopile. He described this instrument to Macedonio Melloni. Initially, they jointly developed a greatly
improved instrument. Subsequently, Melloni worked alone, developing an instrument in 1833 (a multielement
thermopile) that could detect a person 10 metres away.
• The next significant step in improving detectors was the bolometer, invented in 1880 by Samuel Pierpont Langley.
• Langley and his assistant Charles Greeley Abbot continued to make improvements in this instrument. By 1901, it
had the capability to detect radiation from a cow from 400 metres away, and was sensitive to differences in
temperature of one hundred thousandths of a degree Celsius.
• The first commercial thermal imaging camera was sold in 1965 for high voltage power line inspections.
How Do Infrared Sensors Work?
• Like visible light, infrared radiation has a distinct set of wavelengths, though infrared radiation cannot
be seen by a naked human eye. All objects above absolute zero emit infrared radiation, tied to the
surface temperature of the object. To detect infrared energy, scientists create specialized lenses using
a variety of materials like quartz, sapphire and silicon, and mirrors made of other materials like
aluminum and gold, each material corresponding to a specific infrared wavelength. If a temperature is
hot enough, though, the object can also release visible light. Different sensors pick up the infrared data,
depending on the technology used. This process can, then, show the relative heats of objects within
the detector's (a camera, for instance) field of vision. The technology can then turn it into a photo or a
video, or represent it in real-time. The practice of thermography uses high-powered infrared sensors to
determine the absolute temperature of an object.
• The first advanced application of IR technology in the civil section may have been a device to detect
the presence of icebergs and steamships using a mirror and thermopile, patented in 1913.[5] This was
soon outdone by the first true IR iceberg detector, which did not use thermopiles, patented in 1914 by
R.D. Parker.[6] This was followed up by G.A. Barker’s proposal to use the IR system to detect forest
fires in 1934.[7] The technique was not truly industrialized until it was used in the analysis of heating
uniformity in hot steel strips in 1935.[8]
Advantages of IR Temperature Sensors

• IR sensors read moving objects. Contact-based temperature sensors do not

work well on moving objects. Infrared temperature sensors are ideally suited
for measuring the temperatures of tires, brakes and similar devices.
• IR sensors don’t wear. No contact means no friction. Infrared sensors
experience no wear and tear, and consequently have longer operating lives.
• IR sensors can provide more detail. An IR sensor can provide greater detail
during a measurement than contact devices, simply by pointing it at different
spots on the object being read.
• IR sensors can be used to detect motion by measuring fluctuations in
temperature in the field of view.
DISADVANTAGES

• Somewhat ironically, one of the strengths of infrared

scanning technology also causes a weakness. Because
they do not use visible light, infrared scanners can't
produce an image that shows color (other than the colors
chosen to represent different heats). Similarly, this
technology cannot distinguish between objects that are
near to or obscuring each other when they are of similar
heats.
Types of Infrared Thermometers
• The most common types of infrared thermometers include:
• Spot infrared thermometers – These devices measure the temperature at a spot on
a surface.
• Infrared scanning systems – These devices scan a larger area as the spot
thermometer points at a rotating mirror. They are widely used in manufacturing
processes involving conveyors or web processes, such as continuous piles of
material along a conveyor belt or large sheets of metal or glass exiting an oven.
• Infrared thermal imaging cameras – These cameras are essentially infrared
radiation thermometers used for measuring temperature at many points over a
relatively large area to create a two-dimensional image called a thermogram. This
technology is more software- and hardware-intensive compared to other types of
infrared thermometers.