The CiS Forschungsinstitut für Mikrosensorik GmbH from Erfurt is a privately organized, non-profit, business-oriented research institute with around 120 employees. It is one of the leading institutes for the development of high-quality, silicon-based microsensors and microsystems, especially in the areas of MEMS and MOEMS. Building on 30 years of “Competence in Silicon”, the expertise ranges from R&D services to small-batch production of customer-specific microcomponents.

In the run-up to HANNOVER MESSE 2025, the Thuringians announced the start of the NIVO2 project, in which a novel isothermal thermopile infrared sensor is to be developed. By way of explanation: thermopile sensors enable cooling-free infrared detection and are used in non-contact systems for measuring temperature and gas concentration. There is a large market demand for this, for example in environmental technology for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, in medical diagnostics and in building safety.

However, thermopile sensors are subject to strong interference, especially under harsh environmental conditions, which can lead to major errors and instabilities. In the new research project NIVO2, a novel isothermal solution is therefore to be investigated to minimize this problem. In addition, a front side etching for the production of thin membranes is to be developed and integrated into the thermopile sensors. The basis for this is provided by novel isothermal sensor designs and isothermal sensor assemblies. These will be realized in the project after theoretical analysis and numerical simulation in order to achieve a low drift in the event of external thermal disturbances. The aim of the two innovations is to develop a cost-effective and universally applicable thermopile infrared sensor.