The development of a surface micromachined infrared ray (IR) focal plane array (FPA), in which a single SiO2 layer functions as an IR absorbing plate and a Pb(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 thin film serves as a thermally sensitive material is described. The advantages of using SiO2 as an IR absorbing layer include the fact that it has good IR absorbance within the 8–12 µm spectral range. In this case, about 60% of the incident IR spectrum in this range was absorbed. Another important advantage of SiO2, when applied to the top of the Pt/PZT/Pt stack, is that it functions as a supporting membrane. Consequently, the IR absorbing layer forms as one body on the membrane structure, which simplifies the overall MEMS process and provides a robust structure.