Patent ID: 7989821

Claim:
A sealed infrared radiation source, comprising: an emitter membrane comprising an electrical conductor, the emitter membrane being heated when an electrical current is conducted through the membrane; and a housing having a first housing part and a second housing part, at least one of the first housing part and the second housing part being transparent in the IR range, the membrane being enclosed within the housing between the housing parts, each housing part defining a cavity between the membrane and the respective housing part on each side of the membrane, the housing parts being attached to the membrane so as to seal the cavities on each side of the membrane; wherein the housing parts are at least partially electrically conductive, the first housing part being electrically coupled to a first end of said electrical conductor and insulated from a second end of said electrical conductor, and the second housing part being electrically coupled to the second end of said electrical conductor and being insulated from the first end of said electrical conductor, thus allowing a current applied between an exterior portion of the first housing part and an exterior portion of the second housing part to pass through and heat said membrane.