Acoustic wave detector

US10451589B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Infineon Technologies AG · DE

Inventors

• David Tumpold · Tauberbischofsheim, DE
• Alfons Dehe · Reutlingen, DE
• Christoph Glacer · Munich, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 24, 2017
• Grant date: Oct 22, 2019
• Expiry date: Jul 11, 2037

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2291/021
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An acoustic wave detector may include: an exterior housing with an exterior housing wall, a gas chamber located within the exterior housing and configured to receive a gas therein. The exterior housing wall may include an aperture providing a gas passage between the gas chamber and the exterior of the acoustic wave detector. The acoustic wave detector may further include an excitation element configured to selectively excite gas molecules of a specific type in the gas received in the gas chamber in a time-varying fashion, thereby generating acoustic waves in the gas, and an acoustic wave sensor configured to detect the acoustic waves generated in the gas and acoustic waves generated outside of the acoustic wave detector. The acoustic wave sensor may have an acoustic port overlapping with the aperture in the exterior housing wall. The acoustic wave sensor may include a mechanical structure displaceable by the acoustic waves to be detected, wherein a displacement of the mechanical structure is indicative of characteristics of the acoustic waves to be detected.