Thermal protection mechanisms for Uncooled microbolometers

摘要

Is a method and apparatus for preventing solar damage and other heat related damage to pixels of an uncooled microbolometer.In a predetermined embodiment, at least a portion of the pixel of the uncooled microbolometer is configured with a bimetallic thermal shorting mechanism to protect the pixel from damage from excess heat.In another embodiment, a thermally discolored film that is highly reflective at a temperature above a predetermined threshold is applied over the microbolometer pixels to prevent the pixel from being damaged by excess heat.