Two students are studying for the final exam in mat 172 together. the final exam is worth 30% of their grade, their average test grade is worth 50% and their average homework grade is worth 20%. student a has an average test grade of 88 and average homework grade of 94, and student b has an average test grade of 91 and average homework grade of 80. they both get a 92 on the final exam. which one(s) will earn an a in the class? (instructions: 1. convert the percentage to a decimal: 50% - 0.5. 2. multiply the average for a category by the decimal. 3. add the numbers together to get the final grade.)

Infrared sensor is most used sensor in wireless technology where remote controlling functions and detection of surrounding objects/ obstacles are involved. this post will discuss about what is infrared sensor, its working principle, how it works, types, applications, advantages and disadvantages. what is infrared sensor

ir sensor is a simple electronic device which emits and detects ir radiation in order to find out certain objects/obstacles in its range. some of its features are heat and motion sensing.

ir sensors use infrared radiation of wavelength between 0.75 to 1000µm which falls between visible and microwave regions of electromagnetic spectrum. ir region is not visible to human eyes. infrared spectrum is categorized into three regions based on its wavelength i.e. near infrared, mid infrared, far infrared.

wavelength regions of infrared spectrum

near ir – 0.75µm to 3 µm
mid ir – 3 µm to 6 µm
far ir – > 6 µm
1 introduction to infrared sensor

fig. 1 – introduction to infrared sensor

working principle of infrared sensor

infrared sensors works on three fundamental physics laws:

planck’s radiation law: any object whose temperature is not equal to absolute zero (0 kelvin) emits radiation.
stephan boltzmann law: the total energy emitted at all wavelengths by a black body is related to the absolute temperature.
wein’s displacement law: objects of different temperature emit spectra that peak at different wavelengths that is inversely proportional to temperature.
key elements of infrared detection system

the key elements of infrared detection system are:

ir transmitter

ir transmitter acts as source for ir radiation. according to plank’s radiation law, every object is a source of ir radiation at temp t above 0 kelvin. in most cases black body radiators, tungsten lamps, silicon carbide, infrared lasers, leds of infrared wavelength are used as sources.

transmission medium

as the name suggests, transmission medium provides passage for the radiation to reach from ir transmitter to ir receiver. vacuum, atmosphere and optical fibers are used as medium.

ir receiver

generally ir receivers are photo diode and photo transistors. they are capable of detecting infrared radiation. hence ir receiver is also called as ir detector. variety of receivers are available based on wavelength, voltage and package.

ir transmitter and receivers are selected with matching parameters. some of deciding specifications of receivers are photosensitivity or responsivity, noise equivalent power and detectivity.