Patent ID: 6194721
Filing Date: 2001-02-27
Classification: G01J,H01L

Abstract:
A far-infrared imaging system including:a substrate essentially transparent to visible or infrared radiation;a mirror on said substrate partially reflective to visible or infrared radiation;a perforated spacer plate on said mask and in registration therewith;an ultrathin-film flexible insulating membrane on said spacer plate;an array of far-infrared-absorbing and visible or near-infrared radiation reflecting islands on said membrane, each island being in registration with a respective perforation of said spacer plate, wherein said membrane is nominally spaced approximately one-quarter the wavelength of the far-infrared from said substrate, whereby a quarter-wave absorber for far-infrared is established between said islands and said mirror, and whereby said membrane expands as said far-infrared radiation is absorbed and said islands thus move with respect to said mirror;means for directing a far-infrared image onto said array;and means for directing visible or near-infrared radiation through said substrate, mirror, mask and spacer plate onto the opposite side of the islands of said array from the far-infrared image, whereby the space between said islands and said mirror acts as a Fabry-Perot cavity for said visible or near-infrared radiation, and whereby variations in the reflectance of said Fabry-Perot cavity to visible or near-infrared radiation occur as said membrane expands and said islands move with respect to said mirror, wherein said variation in reflectance over the array of islands define a visible or near-infrared image.