Patent ID: 8729473

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: A a substrate; B an infrared (IR) sensor formed over a first portion of the substrate, the IR sensor including a thermopile and a plurality of sections, each section including: i a plurality of polysilicon traces formed over the substrate, each polysilicon trace having a first width, and the plurality of polysilicon traces occupying a first area; ii a recess formed in the substrate below at least a portion of each polysilicon trace; iii a first dielectric layer formed over the polysilicon traces; and iv. a plurality of metal traces formed over the dielectric layer, each metal trace having a second width that is less than the first width, and the plurality of metal traces occupying a second area, each metal trace is associated with at least one of the polysilicon traces to form a pair of electrodes for a thermopile, the horizontal spacing between adjacent metal traces is reduced so that the second area is substantially less than first area; v a second dielectric layer formed over the metal traces; and vi an IR absorber formed over the second dielectric layer; and C active circuitry formed over a second portion of the substrate, the active circuitry being in communication with the IR sensor.