MULTICHANNEL COOLED PHOTODETECTOR UNIT Russian patent published in 2002 - IPC

FIELD: heat radiation detectors for thermal imager systems mounted on stationary and mobile equipment and the like. SUBSTANCE: photodetector unit has photodetector; micro-cryogenic cooling system incorporating cooler designed for mounting inside photodetector; cryogenic gas machine; multicomponent photoresistor with photosensitive components whose holder is designed for cooling mentioned multicomponent photoresistor; cylinder with at least one window transparent for infrared radiation; preamplifier unit and power unit. Multicomponent photoresistor is mounted in leak-tight gas-filled space of photodetector. The latter incorporates cylinder shell made of material whose coefficient of temperature expansion is at least close to that of cylinder material; it also has base which, together with shell, holder, and cylinder form leak-tight gas-filled space of device. Base is installed on holder flange and joined with cylinder shell by means of ring made of material whose coefficient of temperature expansion is at least close to that of cylinder shell material. Pipeline feeding cryogen from cryogenic gas machine to cooler is, essentially, at least partially metal line with electric isolator placed between cryogenic gas machine and cooler to isolate ground circuits of micro-cryogenic system and photodetector. Preamplifier unit is assembled of multichannel preamplifier modules, at least one channel of preamplifier unit being assigned to respective photosensitive component. Power unit has photoresistor power supply and preamplifier unit power supply, the former being connected from preamplifier power supply. EFFECT: enhanced detecting ability and noise immunity, improved resistance of structural components to abrupt ambient temperature fluctuations. 19 cl;, 3 dwg