What is Pyroelectric Detector used for?
A Pyroelectric detector when combined with a current mode (CM) or voltage mode (VM) electronic circuit can be used measure optical power or pulse energy. A Pyroelectric must be used with a chopped, modulated or pulsed source. To measure power (radiant flux in W) the detector and electronics are used in the flat Bandwidth frequency range where they can be calibrated in V/W. To measure pulse energy (joules) the detector and amplifier are used with pulses whose duration is less than the RC time constant of the circuit and can be calibrated in V/J. Since they operate based on a thermal phenomena they have incredibly broad spectral response – would you believe 0.1 to 1000 µm? In other terms – hard UV, Visible, Near IR, Far IR and Extreme IR. Yes – this includes the Terahertz (THz) Gap!
