Pulsed performance of pyroelectric detectors

The studies on the behaviour of a Pyroelectric Detector (PED) under the conditions of pulsed load are presented. Taking into account the details of its geometry and thermal connectivity, 3D models resulting to the temperature field in a LiTaO3 pyroelectric crystal are incorporated in a complete detector. From the time-resolved temperature field, the current resulting from the pyroelectric effect is calculated, followed by the PED output from the I-to-V converter. The models are verified experimentally with a commercial PED in the case of 1:1 duty cycle and a high electrical time constant. Further, the predicted response to a burst of 2ns pulses is given for variants of the front-end electronics, allowing the optimal choice of signal processing method. The novelty is the achieved facility to predict the response to pulsed radiation, down to ns pulse widths and arbitrary duty cycle. This is valuable for the engineering of pulsed-source sensor systems requiring detection at room temperature. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.