Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Thermopiles: Sensitivity and Noise Ratio

In course

MICRO-330: Sensors

Principes physiques et électronique utilisés dans les capteurs. Applications des capteurs. ...

Description

This lecture covers the use of thermopiles in micro sensors, focusing on their sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio, and thermal insulation. It explains the importance of thermocouple junctions deposited on a membrane to measure incident radiation heating. The lecture also discusses the impact of thermal noise in resistors, the optimization of materials for thermopiles, and the measurement techniques such as infrared pyrometry and optical pyrometry. Additionally, it addresses the correction of ambient temperature effects and the structure of thermopile sensors, including the use of MEMS technology for thermal insulation.

This video is available exclusively on Mediaspace for a restricted audience. Please log in to MediaSpace to access it if you have the necessary permissions.

Watch on Mediaspace

Instructors (3)

Herbert Shea

Philippe Renaud

Philippe Renaud is Professor at the Microsystem Laboratory (LMIS4) at EPFL. He is also the scientific director of the EPFL Center of MicroNanoTechnology (CMI). His main research area is related to micronano technologies in biomedical applications (BioMEMS) with emphasis on cell-chips, nanofluidics and bioelectronics. Ph. Renaud is invloved in many scientifics papers in his research area. He received his diploma in physics from the University of Neuchâtel (1983) and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Lausanne (1988). He was postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley (1988-89) and then at the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory in Switzerland (1990-91). In 1992, he joined the Sensors and Actuators group of the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) at Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was appointed assistant professor at EPFL in 1994 and full professor in 1997. In summer 1996, he was visiting professor at the Tohoku University, Japan. Ph. Renaud is active in several scientific committee (scientific journals, international conferences, scientific advisory boards of companies, PhD thesis committee). He is also co-founder of the Nanotech-Montreux conference. Ph. Renaud is committed to valorization of basic research through his involvement in several high-tech start-up companies.

Giovanni Boero

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Information engineering

Signal processing: Digital image processing

Related concepts (25)

Noise (electronics)

In electronics, noise is an unwanted disturbance in an electrical signal. Noise generated by electronic devices varies greatly as it is produced by several different effects. In particular, noise is inherent in physics and central to thermodynamics. Any conductor with electrical resistance will generate thermal noise inherently. The final elimination of thermal noise in electronics can only be achieved cryogenically, and even then quantum noise would remain inherent. Electronic noise is a common component of noise in signal processing.

Noise figure

Noise figure (NF) and noise factor (F) are figures of merit that indicate degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that is caused by components in a signal chain. These figures of merit are used to evaluate the performance of an amplifier or a radio receiver, with lower values indicating better performance. The noise factor is defined as the ratio of the output noise power of a device to the portion thereof attributable to thermal noise in the input termination at standard noise temperature T0 (usually 290 K).

Signal-to-noise ratio

Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to noise power, often expressed in decibels. A ratio higher than 1:1 (greater than 0 dB) indicates more signal than noise. SNR is an important parameter that affects the performance and quality of systems that process or transmit signals, such as communication systems, audio systems, radar systems, imaging systems, and data acquisition systems.

Pyrometer

A pyrometer is a type of remote-sensing thermometer used to measure the temperature of distant objects. Various forms of pyrometers have historically existed. In the modern usage, it is a device that from a distance determines the temperature of a surface from the amount of the thermal radiation it emits, a process known as pyrometry and sometimes radiometry. The word pyrometer comes from the Greek word for fire, "πῦρ" (pyr), and meter, meaning to measure.

Carrier-to-noise ratio

In telecommunications, the carrier-to-noise ratio, often written CNR or C/N, is the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a modulated signal. The term is used to distinguish the CNR of the radio frequency passband signal from the SNR of an analog base band message signal after demodulation. For example, with FM radio, the strength of the 100 MHz carrier with modulations would be considered for CNR, whereas the audio frequency analogue message signal would be for SNR; in each case, compared to the apparent noise.

Related lectures (45)

Understanding Noise in Electrical Systems

Explores noise sources, Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem, amplifier noise, interference effects, and quantization error in electrical systems.

Amplified Spontaneous Emission Noise in Fiber Amplifiers

Explores amplitude and phase modulation, noise figures, and detector noise in fiber amplifiers.

Noise in Data Acquisition

Explores noise sources in data acquisition, including thermal, shot, and amplifier noise, as well as the effects of ADC noise.

Shot Noise and Detectors

Explores shot noise, Johnson noise, and detectors in laser fundamentals and applications.

RIN, Shot Noise, Circuit Noise - Examples