Novel IR radiator for integrated IR sensor systems for selective detection of methane and other gases

摘要

The invention describes an apparatus and a method with which detectors can be produced for ascertaining the presence of dangerous concentrations of, for example, methane. The method guarantees selective detection and is based on the property of polyatomic gases to absorb light quanta with energies in the infrared range. In this case, according to the invention, microstructured radiators which radiate monochromatised infrared light (IR light) in spatial directions fixed by the structuring are proposed according to the invention. These novel radiators are intended to be used together with microstructured IR detectors or IR detector arrays in gas sensors (detectors) based on the infrared absorption principle. These detectors allow simultaneous selective determination of various gas components.