High-performance linear arrays of YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting infrared microbolometers on silicon

Burgess R. Johnson; Marc C. Foote; Holly A. Marsh

doi:10.1117/12.211293

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6 June 1995 High-performance linear arrays of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ superconducting infrared microbolometers on silicon

Burgess R. Johnson, Marc C. Foote, Holly A. Marsh

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Proceedings Volume 2475, Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.211293
Event: SPIE's 1995 Symposium on OE/Aerospace Sensing and Dual Use Photonics, 1995, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Single detectors and linear arrays of microbolometers utilizing the superconducting transition edge of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ have been fabricated by micromachining on silicon wafers. A D* of 8 +/- 2 X 10⁹ cm Hz^1/2/watt has been measured on a single detector. This is the highest D* reported on any superconducting microbolometer operating at temperatures higher than about 70 K. The NEP of this device was 1.5 X 10^-12 watts/Hz^HLF at 2 Hz, at a temperature of 80.7 K. The thermal time constant was 105 msec, and the detector area was 140 micrometers X 105 micrometers . The use of batch silicon processing makes fabrication of linear arrays of these detectors relatively straightforward. The measured responsivity of detectors in one such array varied by less than 20% over the 6 mm length of the 64-element linear array. This measurement shows that good uniformity can be achieved at a single operating temperature in a superconductor microbolometer array, even when the superconducting resistive transition is a sharp function of temperature. The thermal detection mechanism of these devices gives them broadband response. This makes them especially useful at long wavelengths (e.g. (lambda) > 20 micrometers ), where they provide very high sensitivity at relatively high operating temperatures.

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Burgess R. Johnson, Marc C. Foote, and Holly A. Marsh "High-performance linear arrays of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ superconducting infrared microbolometers on silicon", Proc. SPIE 2475, Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy, (6 June 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.211293

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