Micromachined Uncooled IR Bolometer Linear Array Using VO2 Thin Films

Mixed vanadium oxide thin films, as VO₂ for the main composition are materials for uncooled microbolometer due to their high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) at room temperature. This paper describes the design and fabrication of 8-element linear array IR uncooled microbolometers using the films and micromachining technology. The characteristics of the array is investigated in the spectral region of 8–12 m. The fabricated detectors exhibit responsivity of up to 10 KV/W, typical detectivity of 1.89×10⁸ cmHz^1/2/W, and thermal time constant of 11 ms, at 296 K and at a frequency of 30 Hz. Furthermore, The uncorrected response uniformity of the linear array bolometers is less than 20%.     

铁电薄膜在红外辐射作用下的响应

研究了红外探测器中红外焦平面列阵的象元———铁电薄膜微桥在红外辐射作用下的输出信号。用层合板壳作为微桥结构的力学模型,中间一层为压电材料,上下两层为金属材料电极。采用了力-热-电耦合的控制方程和变分原理,推导出了基于Mindlin假设的压电材料层合板有限元公式。以红外探测器在夜间从飞机上探测地面的坦克为例,用有限单元法模拟了铁电薄膜微桥在红外辐射作用下的力、热、电输出信号,并对结果作了分析比较。     

Nb5 N6 microbolometer arrays for terahertz detection

A novel room-temperature microbolometer array chip consisting of an Nb5N6 thin film microbridge and a dipole planar antenna, which is used as a terahertz (THz) detector, is described in this paper. Due to the high-temperature coefficient of the resistance of the Nb5N6 thin film, which is as high as -0.7% K-1 , such an antenna-coupled microbolometer is ideal for detecting signals in a frequency range from 0.22THz to 0.33THz. The dc responsivity, calculated from the measured I-V curve of the Nb5N6 microbolometer, is about -760 V/W at a bias current of 0.19mA. A typical noise voltage as low as 10 nV/Hz 1/2 yields a low noise equivalent power (NEP) of 1.3×10-11W/Hz 1/2 at a modulation frequency above 4kHz, and the best RF responsivity, characterized using an infrared device measuring method, is about 580V/W, with the corresponding NEP being 1.7×10-11W/Hz 1/2 . In order to further test the performance of the Nb5N6 microbolometer, we construct a quasi-optical type receiver by attaching it to a hyperhemispherical silicon lens, and the result is that the best responsivity of the receiver is up to 320V/W. This work could offer another way to develop a large scale focal-plane array in silicon using simple techniques and at low cost.     

像元间距为25μm、160×120元无热电制冷器的非致冷非晶硅探测器（英文）

介绍用非晶硅微型辐射热量计制成的160×120元非致冷红外焦平面阵列的特点和性能，该阵列集成在一个无铅芯片载体封装中，像素间距为25μm，适合于大批量生产。 25μm像元结构得益于较小的热时间常数，该技术使我们能够设计出更高的热隔离性能，从而能以35μm技术为基础开发出25μm技术。通过采用新的像素设计和更进一步推动设计方法，在没有采用复杂昂贵的双层结构的前提下，保持了较高填充因子。从读出集成电路结构、封装、可操作性和光电性能入手对该探测器进行了介绍。为该探测器设计了一种新型集成读出电路。可以通过串行链接对增益、图像翻转和积分时间等高级功能进行操控，降低电气对接的数量。研制的小型无铅芯片载体封装便于大规模生产探测器，主要用途为便携式摄像机或头盔摄像机。     

Uncooled microbolometer detector: recent developments at ULIS

Uncooled infrared focal plane arrays are being developed for a wide range of thermal imaging applications. Fire-fighting, predictive maintenance, process control and thermography are a few of the industrial applications which could take benefit from uncooled infrared detector. Therefore, to answer these markets, a 35-μm pixel-pitch uncooled IR detector technology has been developed enabling high performance 160×120 and 384×288 arrays production. Besides a wide-band version from uncooled 320×240/45 μm array has been also developed in order to address process control and more precisely industrial furnaces control. The ULIS amorphous silicon technology is well adapted to manufacture low cost detector in mass production. After some brief microbolometer technological background, we present the characterization of 35 μm pixel-pitch detector as well as the wide-band 320×240 infrared focal plane arrays with a pixel pitch of 45 μm. The paper presented there appears in Infrared Photoelectronics, edited by Antoni Rogalski, Eustace L. Dereniak, Fiodor F. Sizov, Proc. SPIE Vol. 5957, 59570M (2005).     

BST铁电薄膜在红外辐射作用下响应的解析解

研究了红外探测器中红外焦平面列阵的象元—BST铁电薄膜微桥在红外辐射作用下输出信号的分析方法.将BST铁电薄膜微桥结构简化为一块微米尺度的夹层板,中间是BST铁电薄膜,在极化模式下工作.微桥的上表面接收辐射脉冲信号.由于微桥十分微小,可以认为红外辐射在板面上均匀分布,又由于板的平面尺寸比厚度大得多,可以认为热传导只在板厚的方向进行.采用适当的力-电-热耦合的控制方程和非线性的本构方程,得到了铁电薄膜微桥在红外辐射作用下的的力、热、电输出信号的解析解,并将计算结果与实验结果作了比较.     

A New CMOS Read-out IC for Uncooled Microbolometer Infrared Image Sensor

An uncooled microbolometer image sensor, used in an IR image sensor, is made by a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) process, so the value of the microbolometer resistor has a process variation. Also, the reference resistor, which is used to connect to the microbolometer, is fabricated by a standard CMOS process, and the difference between the values of the microbolometer resistor and the reference resistor generates an unwanted output signal for the same input from the sensor array. In order to minimize this problem, a new CMOS read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) was designed. Instead of a single input mode, a differential input mode scheme and a simple method to compensate the resistor value are proposed. Using results from a computer simulation, it is observed that the output characteristic of the ROIC was improved and the effect of the process variation was decreased without using complex compensation circuits. Based on the simulation results, a prototype device including an ROIC that was fabricated by a standard 0.25um CMOS process and a microbolometer with a 16 x 16 sensor array was fabricated and characterized.     

铁电薄膜在红外辐射作用下响应的解析解

本文研究了红外探测器中红外焦平面列阵的象元———铁电薄膜微桥在红外辐射作用下的输出信号。采用层合板作为力学模型,将铁电薄膜微桥结构简化为一块边长为微米量级、厚度为亚微米量级的夹层板,中间是铁电薄膜,上下表面为金属薄膜,上表面为金黑,下表面为铂(白金),上下表面都是电极。微桥的上表面接收周期为1/30秒的辐射方波脉冲信号。由于微桥十分微小,可以认为红外辐射在板面上均匀分布,又由于板的平面尺寸与厚度之比相当大,因此可以认为热传导只在板厚的方向进行,问题变为一维的。采用适当的力-电-热耦合的控制方程,利用级数解,算出铁电薄膜微桥在红外辐射作用下的力学响应和薄膜内的力、热、电输出信号,并对结果作了分析比较。     

Reactive Ion Beams Sputtering of Vanadium Oxides Films for Uncooled Microbolometer

Vanadium oxides thin films for uncooled bolometric detectors have been fabricated on Si₃N₄-film-coated Si substrates by low temperature reactive ion beam sputtering in a controlled oxygen atmosphere. The typical growth temperature is kept at 200°C during sputtering, which is compatible with the post-CMOS technology. The as-deposited film exhibits sheet resistance and temperature coefficient resistant of 32 k and –0.025 K^–1 at room temperature, respectively.     

Determination of Thermal Parameters of Vanadium Oxide Uncooled Microbolometer Infrared Detector

Vanadium oxide thin films are the potential candidates for uncooled microbolometers due to their high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) at room temperature. A 2D array of 10-element test microbolometer without air-gap thermal isolation structure was fabricated with pulsed laser deposited vanadium oxide as IR sensing layer for the first time. Infrared responsivity of the uncooled microbolometer was evaluated in the spectral region 8-15 m. The device exhibits responsivity of about 12 V/W at 30 Hz chopper frequency for 20 A bias current. Thermal time constant (), Thermal conductance (G) and thermal capacitance (C) are the thermal parameters characterize the performance of the uncooled microbolometer infrared detectors are determined as 15 ms, 10^-3 W/K and 3.5 × 10^-5 J/K respectively. The influence of the thermal parameters on the performance of the microbolometer is discussed.