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handbook of modern sensors

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80 3 Physical Principles <strong>of</strong> Sensing<br />

Fig. 3.28. Polarization <strong>of</strong> a pyroelectric crystal. The sensor must be stored and operated below<br />

the Curie temperature.<br />

coupling coefficient 9 [21,22]. It shows the factor by which the pyroelectric efficiency<br />

is lower than the Carnot limiting value T /T a . Numerical values for kp 2 are shown<br />

in Table A.9.<br />

Table A.9 represents that triglycine sulfate (TGS) crystals are the most efficient<br />

pyroelectric converters. However, for a long time, they were quite impractical for<br />

use in the <strong>sensors</strong> because <strong>of</strong> a low Curie temperature. If the sensor’s temperature is<br />

elevated above that level, it permanently loses its polarization. In fact, TGS <strong>sensors</strong><br />

proved to be unstable even below the Curie temperature, with a signal being lost quite<br />

spontaneously [23]. It was discovered that doping <strong>of</strong> TGS crystals with L-alanine<br />

(LATGS process patented by Philips) during its growth stabilizes the material below<br />

the Curie temperature. The Curie temperature was raised to 60 ◦ C, which allows<br />

its use with an upper operating temperature <strong>of</strong> 55 ◦ C, which is sufficient for many<br />

applications.<br />

Other materials, such as lithium tantalate and pyroelectric ceramics, are also<br />

used to produce the pyroelectric <strong>sensors</strong>. Polymer films become increasingly popular<br />

for a variety <strong>of</strong> applications. During recent years, a deposition <strong>of</strong> pyroelectric thin<br />

films have been intensively researched. Especially promising is use <strong>of</strong> lead titanate<br />

(PbTiO 3 ), which is a ferroelectric ceramic having both a high pyroelectric coefficient<br />

9 The coefficient k p is analogous to the piezoelectric coupling coefficient k.

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