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We present a new experimental technique to characterise the crosstalk of a thermopile-based thermal imager, based on bi-directional electrical heating of thermopile elements. The new technique provides a significantly simpler and more reliable method to determine the crosstalk, compared to a more complex experimental setup with a laser source. The technique is used to characterise a novel single-chip array, fabricated on a single dielectric membrane. We propose a theoretical model to simulate the crosstalk, which shows good agreement with the experimental results. Our results allow a better understanding of the thermal effects in these devices, which are at the center of a rising market of industrial and consumer applications.

This paper presents the high temperature thermal characterization of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) infra-red (IR) thermal source, using non-contact optical approaches, based on IR and thermo-incandescence microscopy. The IR thermal source was fabricated using a CMOS based processing technology and consists of a miniature micro-heater, fabricated using tungsten metallization. The performance and reliability of the IR source is highly dependent on its operating temperature. For short-wave (1.4 µm -2.5 µm) infra-red emission, the operating temperature is in excess of 800°C. Work will be presented in this paper in which spot temperature measurements (> 700 °C) were made on the IR source using thermal-incandescence microscopy. Thermal-optical calibration was achieved by utilizing the known melting point (MP) of different metal microparticles. Optical measurements were compared to those obtained using an electrical approach. The thermal measurements suggest good temperature uniformity across the micro-heater of the IR source.