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Thermopile Sensor Physics

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Thermopile Sensor Physics

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Radiation detecting thermopiles are based on thermocouples. A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals connected in series. To detect radiation, one junction is blackened to absorb the radiation. The temperature rise of the junction (with respect to another non-irradiated junction) generates a voltage. This effect, discovered by Seebeck, is the basis of all thermocouple temperature sensors.The thermocouple materials are usually bismuth and antimony, which have a relatively high thermoelectric coefficient. Even with these materials, amplifier noise limits the detectivity because of the relatively low output voltage.

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