Summary:

As the core component of infrared thermal imaging systems, infrared sensors integrate cutting-edge technologies from multiple fields including optical systems, infrared detection, signal processing, and thermal control. These devices capture target infrared radiation through detectors, which is then processed via signal conditioning circuits (such as operational amplifiers for amplification and filtering), digital-to-analog conversion, and coordinated processing by main control units (FPGAs/SOCs, TI DSPs). Enhanced by power management components (LDOs, DC-DC converters) and temperature control circuits to ensure system stability, they ultimately deliver high-resolution thermal imaging data. Widely applied in critical sectors like security surveillance, industrial inspection, and medical diagnostics, these sensors provide essential technical support for precise target detection and quantitative temperature analysis, serving as the foundational hardware platform enabling intelligent infrared sensing.

1、Industry technical bottleneck in depth analysis

Limitations of ADC performance: Existing ADC has shortcomings in the coordinated optimization of accuracy and sampling rate, which makes it difficult to achieve high precision conversion in the face of complex dynamic infrared signals, directly affecting the accuracy of back-end data processing; at the same time, high-speed ADC generally has a difficult balance between power consumption and cost.

The contradiction between integration and power consumption: In order to meet the development needs of miniaturization and portability of infrared engine, the integration of core circuit modules such as FPGA/SOC and TI-DSP still needs to be improved; and the insufficient power control at the system level leads to limited battery life, which cannot meet the needs of long-term continuous operation scenarios.

Inadequate power management stability: DC-DC, LDO and other power conversion circuits are prone to ripple and noise interference in the process of voltage output, which not only affects the normal operation of signal chain modules, but also reduces the overall operation stability and reliability of the chip.

2、Corebaiwei full link solution

As infrared sensor technology continues to push boundaries, Corebaiwei has developed a series of high-performance chips leveraging its deep expertise in precision signal chains. These products establish comprehensive technical support across the entire chain: from accurate signal acquisition by infrared detectors to efficient thermal imaging data processing and transmission, along with stable power supply and interface coordination. Addressing core requirements like low-noise imaging, rapid response, and wide-temperature stability, they empower infrared technology to enhance performance in security surveillance, industrial inspection, medical diagnostics, and other applications.

Infrared engine application block diagram

(I) Core chip products and characteristics

1. High-speed analog-to-digital conversion chip ADC (CBM16AD125): 16-bit high resolution +125MSPS high-speed sampling, accurate and fast acquisition of infrared analog signals, low noise characteristics to effectively guarantee the signal-to-noise ratio of thermal imaging.

• High resolution and high sampling rate: 16-bit resolution can accurately capture the subtle changes of analog signals (DNL±0.7LSB), 125MSPS sampling rate is suitable for high-speed data acquisition scenarios;

• Excellent signal performance: At 70MHz frequency and 125MSPS sampling rate, the system achieves 78dBFS SNR and 88dBc SFDR, effectively suppressing harmonics to ensure signal purity. With minimal input noise as low as −153dBm/Hz (200Ω input impedance/70MHz frequency/125MSPS), it significantly reduces environmental interference.

• Wide input range and high bandwidth: The bandwidth of differential analog input is 650MHz, and the maximum range of differential analog input can reach 2Vp-p. It can not only process high-frequency radar signals, but also be compatible with industrial sensor signals of different amplitudes, expanding the application boundary.

• Low power characteristics: The power consumption is only 800mW@125MSPS, which can reduce the energy consumption by more than 30% compared with similar products. Flexible power failure options automatically reduce power consumption when the device is in standby mode through intelligent power management technology, improving energy utilization efficiency.

• High Integration and Flexibility: The integrated reference voltage source simplifies circuit design while reducing PCB space by approximately 20%. It features built-in integer input clock dividers (1-8) that allow users to adjust clock frequencies according to actual requirements. The clock duty cycle stabilizer continuously monitors and adjusts the clock signal to ensure stable ADC operation.

• Flexible output mode: The output data can be sent directly to two external 16-bit output ports, supporting 1.8VCMOS and LVDS modes, and is compatible with different digital circuit interface standards. The three-line SPI compatible serial interface simplifies the configuration process, and users can quickly set chip parameters.

2、High precision DAC (CBM53D24): 12-bit high precision DAC output, accurate control of infrared engine signal, multi-channel design to meet the needs of complex module collaborative control.

• Low power design: low power characteristics under 3V power supply to adapt to battery power scenarios;

• High resolution: 12-bit resolution provides accurate analog output for applications requiring high precision.

• High resolution and multi-channel: 12-bit resolution ensures output accuracy, 4-channel buffer voltage output improves application flexibility;

• High compatibility: The three-line serial interface is compatible with a variety of communication protocols, such as SPI, QSPI, MICROWIRE and DSP, which is convenient to connect with various microcontrollers and processors.

3、High-speed amplifier chip OPA (CBM8051): high bandwidth amplification of weak infrared electrical signals, low offset voltage stability and accuracy, flexible rail-to-rail output to adapt to the input of the watch engine components.

l Wide power supply voltage range: supports a single power supply from 2.5V to 5.5V, can adapt to a variety of different power environments, and can work stably in battery power or other low-voltage power systems.

l High bandwidth: -3dB small signal bandwidth (G=+1) is 150MHz (typical value), and the maximum bandwidth can provide 250MHz (G=+1) to meet the needs of high-frequency signal amplification, which is suitable for high-speed signal processing circuits.

l Low input bias current: The input bias current is only 1pA (typical value), which makes the amplifier have little influence on the load of the input signal source and can accurately amplify weak signals, suitable for high-precision analog signal processing circuits.

l Low static current: The static current of each amplifier is 2.8mA (typical value), and the power consumption is low, which helps to extend the battery life of devices, suitable for portable devices and other applications with strict power requirements.

l Wide operating temperature range: Operating temperature range is-40°C to +125°C, with good environmental adaptability, can work stably in harsh industrial environment or other extreme temperature conditions.

4、Linear voltage regulator chip LDO (CBM1764): high low differential conversion efficiency, stable output of 3A large current, overcurrent/overheat protection to improve the reliability of the engine, prolong the battery life (portable scene), low output voltage noise, suitable for power supply to noise-sensitive systems.

l Low voltage dissipation characteristics: can work efficiently when the input voltage and output voltage are close to each other, improve power efficiency, suitable for circuits with strict requirements on voltage loss.

l High output current capacity: can provide up to 3A output current, can meet the power supply needs of high-power equipment, such as high-power amplifier, motor drive circuit, etc., ensure that the equipment has enough power supply, avoid the performance degradation or failure caused by insufficient current.

l Low noise performance: The output voltage noise is as low as 40μVRMS (10Hz-100kHz), which is very important for noise-sensitive applications, such as RF (radio frequency) power supply applications, high precision analog circuits, etc., to provide a clean power environment and improve the signal quality and reliability of equipment.

l Wide input voltage range: supports a wide input voltage range of 2.7V to 20V, which can work in different power supply environments. Whether it is battery power, adapter power or other power supply forms, as long as the input voltage is within this range, it can work normally and provide stable power output for the equipment.

l Perfect protection function: it contains reverse battery protection, current limit, heat limit and reverse current protection functions, which can effectively prevent device damage caused by overvoltage, overcurrent, overheating or reverse current, and improve the reliability and safety of the system.

l Adjustable output range: The output voltage range can be adjusted between 1.2V and 20V, so that the CBM1764 can be applied to a variety of electronic devices and systems according to different application requirements, to meet different power supply requirements.

l Fast transient response: CBM1764 is optimized for rapid transient response, can quickly adapt to the change of load current, maintain the stability of output voltage, effectively reduce voltage fluctuations, and ensure the normal operation of the equipment.

5. Interface chip RS232 (CBM3232): In the infrared engine, it can accurately convert TTL/CMOS and RS-232 levels to ensure stable interaction between internal and external data; low power consumption is suitable for portable scenarios, integrated charge pump simplifies the design, strong anti-interference, and improves reliability in complex environments.

l High data transmission rate: The data transmission rate is up to 120Kbps, which can meet the requirements of various application scenarios such as projector main control communication and AC charging pile billing control unit for communication rate, and also reserves expansion space for possible high-speed communication needs in the future.

l High ESD Interference Resistance: Featuring ±15kV air discharge rating and ±8kV contact discharge rating, with models like CBM3232 meeting IEC 61000-4-2 standards (±12kV contact discharge, ±15kV air discharge). This design minimizes the risk of interface component damage, ensures device interface reliability, and reduces failures caused by electrostatic discharge and other factors.

l Wide power supply voltage range: can work in the power supply range of 3.3V to 5.5V, can adapt to a variety of different power supply environment, can run stably under different power supply conditions, improve the applicability and flexibility of the chip.

l Simple circuit design: Taking 3.3VVcc power supply as an example, the CBM3232 chip only needs 50.1μF capacitors to operate under 3.3V power supply, reducing the use of external components, reducing the complexity and cost of circuit design.

l Strong compatibility: compatible with international standard TIA/EIA-232, strong compatibility with RS232 peripherals, easy to connect and communicate with various devices that comply with RS-232 standard, can be widely used in notebook, handheld computer, printer and other devices.

l Wide operating temperature range: some models operate at-40-85℃, which can meet the requirements of industrial application scenarios. They can work stably in harsh environmental temperatures and are suitable for industrial control, vehicular electronics and other fields with high requirements on environmental adaptability.

Application scenario: scenario-based verification of technical value

Through core chip technologies such as high-speed ADC and high-precision DAC, Corebaiwei enables infrared engine to adapt to multiple scenarios and give full play to the value of signal precision control:

(1) Security monitoring field

Night and complex harsh environment security: in the scene of no visible light, rainstorm, fog, smoke, infrared engine captures the target's own thermal radiation to achieve clear imaging all day long, widely used in border patrol, plant security, community night vision monitoring, accurate identification of illegal intrusion and abnormal activities.

Intelligent prevention and control in key areas: For sensitive areas such as oil depot, substation and cultural relics, infrared machine core combined with intelligent temperature abnormal alarm algorithm can realize 24-hour continuous monitoring, and timely warn equipment overheating, fire hazard and risk of personnel intrusion.

(II) Industrial inspection and operation

Predictive equipment fault diagnosis: by detecting the temperature distribution of motors, transformers, circuit boards and other equipment, it can quickly locate the potential hazards of local overheating caused by contact failure and short circuit, and give early warning of faults to reduce downtime losses. It is applied in electric power inspection, machinery manufacturing, rail transit and other fields.

Accurate detection of building and energy: in the field of construction, it can identify thermal loss abnormalities such as wall insulation defects and hot water pipeline leakage; in the field of energy, it is used for photovoltaic panel hot spot detection, wind turbine gearbox and bearing overheating monitoring and other scenarios.

Industrial process temperature control: in metallurgy, chemical industry and other industries, the temperature field distribution of high temperature furnace and reactor is monitored in real time to ensure the stability of production process parameters and avoid safety accidents caused by temperature loss control.

(Ⅲ) Medical and health care

Large-scale rapid temperature screening: infrared mechanism can achieve non-contact measurement of human surface temperature (forehead, wrist), and build efficient screening link in crowded places such as airports, stations and hospitals to assist the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Medical diagnosis and assistance support: In specialized diagnosis and treatment, infrared thermography technology can provide auxiliary basis for diagnosis of arthritis, breast diseases, etc. by detecting local temperature abnormalities (such as temperature difference caused by inflammation and circulatory blood disorder) (combined with other clinical examination results).