We report on a novel gas spectrometry technique using pyroelectric thin-him arrays. The 1 x 50 element arrays of PZT are integrated onto silicon using a membrane structure. The experimental characterization of the pyroelectric elements shows both high voltage and current responses in defined frequency ranges. Mounting the array as a detector in a commercial spectrometer, we demonstrate its capability of detecting the infrared absorption curves of gases by the example of CO2. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.