Terahertz absorption characteristics of nickel–chromium film in a microbolometer focal plane array

Jun Gou; Yadong Jiang; Jun Wang

Terahertz absorption characteristics of nickel–chromium film in a microbolometer focal plane array

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Author(s): Jun Gou ¹ ; Yadong Jiang ¹ ; Jun Wang ¹
- Affiliations: 1: State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 4, Section 2, North Jianshe Road, Chengdu 610054, People's Republic of China
Source: Volume 9, Issue 3, March 2014, p. 215 – 217
DOI: 10.1049/mnl.2013.0711 , Online ISSN 1750-0443

Received 24/12/2013, Accepted 03/03/2014, Revised 20/02/2014, Published 19/03/2014

Nickel–chromium (NiCr) thin film acted as a terahertz (THz) absorption layer in uncooled infrared (IR) microbolometers operated in the THz spectral range. Nanoscale NiCr thin films with different thicknesses were deposited on the diaphragms of 320 × 240 IR focal plane arrays (IRFPAs). The experiments suggested that the THz absorption of NiCr film increased with the increased frequency. Absorption for a lower frequency decreased whereas that for a higher frequency increased with the decreased film thickness. Optimised absorption for different spectral ranges was achieved by adjusting the NiCr film thickness. A 30 nm NiCr film provided the largest absorption in 0.5–1.5 THz whereas an 8 nm NiCr film showed the greatest contribution in 2–2.5 THz. The THz absorption characteristics of the pixel membrane structure in the IRFPAs coupled with a thin metallic film were modelled and analysed. A good agreement was obtained between the calculations and the measurements.

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Terahertz absorption characteristics of nickel–chromium film in a microbolometer focal plane array

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