Pyroelectric Detector

Application ID: 110101


This 2D axisymmetric model demonstrates the operation of a pyroelectric detector found in instruments for measuring laser energy.

A disk of lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is sandwiched between two electrodes and connected to an external circuit. The disk is mounted on a ring-shaped conducting pad with limited thermal conduction. A pulsed energy flux applied to the top surface of the disk represents the absorption of infrared laser. This model uses the Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity Multiphysics Interface which includes Pyroelectricity, Piezoelectric Effect, and Thermal Expansion couplings.

A time-dependent study is used to compute the temperature evolution in the disk and the pyroelectric current.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: