Antenna-coupled microbolometer arrays with aerogel thermal isolation Article uri icon

abstract

  • Uncooled bolometric detectors used in infrared imaging systems have slow response times (∼10 ms) which makes them impractical for fast-frame-rate applications. Antenna-coupled microbolometer arrays have been shown to have fast response times (∼130 ns) and can be used as picture elements in infrared imaging systems but lack sufficient responsivity. Thermal isolation of antenna-coupled microbolometer arrays will increase its responsivity but will also increase its response time. Thermal isolation can be achieved using silica aerogel as a substrate, and its porosity can be used to modify the thermal conductivity down to values lower than air. In this paper antenna-coupled microbolometer arrays were fabricated on a substrate coated with a thin film of aerogel, noise, response and radiation characteristics were measured and compared to similar devices fabricated on a SiO2 substrate. The measured signal-to-noise ratio of devices fabricated on aerogel were one order of magnitude higher than devices fabricated on SiO2 and had time constants around 5 μs. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

publication date

  • 2004-01-01