Uncooled IR and THz detection based on thin LiTaO3 pyroelectric detectors paves the way for growth in infrared spectroscopy

FTIR spectroscopy holds significant untapped potential for materials analysis and laser characterization, but new developments are limited by the availability of simple, universal, and scalable components. Addressing this challenge, pyroelectric receivers PR No1 IR and PR No2 IR, and detectors ALUT3151 with sub-pixel binning and Diff ALUT3151 with additional true differential output have been developed. All models are based on thin LiTaO₃, cover a wide wavelength range, do not require cooling, and operate at high Detectivity (D*) in the kHz range while being rugged and linear over four orders of IR flux magnitude. In this paper, we will focus on recent results towards a people´s-FTIR with reduced TTWS (Time Towards Working Setup). Besides the detector, the thermal source and the beamsplitter have been identified as critical components.