Packaging light sensors

An optical sensor that combines the functions of a twilight sensor and a solar sensor in one package is referred to as a light sensor. Light sensors have been on the market since 1997. 

The light-sensing package features bare chip mounting for sensor installation on the instrument panel. Fig. 7.13.16 shows the assembly structure of the light sensor. The light sensor device is bonded to the middle terminal and then wire-bonded to the outer terminals. The top of the device is coated with gel to protect the A1 wire. Chip capacitors for EMC are bonded between terminals with conductive adhesive. 

The package also features a filter with two roles. One of the roles is to keep the light sensor spectral response from varying depending on the windshield spectral transmittance. The other is to achieve the desired angular response. 

For automobiles, the electronics content has increased dramatically over the past 10 years and is expected to continue with greater use of sensors for collision avoidance and engine status, power electronic modules, fuel cells, power-train controls, LED packaging for lights and displays, and anti-theft systems. 

In the text above some fluorescent protein molecules have been used as markers. If the molecules to be analyzed are not fluorescent, another way to mark the molecule in the feed would be to use an implanted molecule that reacts with a target molecule and gives a complex which can be seen or which emits some measurable electrical light. These nanosensors could also be contained in controlled release packages and thus be delivered over time to find the targeted molecules in the feed or on the membrane. If the sensors are implanted molecules they could function like functionalized affinity membranes are doing today. 

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