The invention relates to a thermal pattern sensor (100) comprising a plurality of pixels (102), each pixel comprising at least one pyroelectric capacitor formed by at least one portion of pyroelectricmaterial (106) arranged between a lower electrode (108) and an upper electrode (110), in which one (108) of the lower and upper electrodes corresponds to an electrode for reading the pixel and in which a heating element that can heat the portion of pyroelectric material of the pyroelectric capacitor of said pixel by Joule effect during a measurement of the thermal pattern by the pyroelectric capacitor of said pixel is formed by the other (110) of the lower and upper electrodes.