Superconducting microbolometer with controllable coordinate sensitivity: an alternative approach to FPA design

V. Yefremenko; E. Gordiyenko; G. Shustakova; S. D. Bader; V. Novosad

doi:10.1117/12.603647

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31 May 2005 Superconducting microbolometer with controllable coordinate sensitivity: an alternative approach to FPA design

V. Yefremenko, E. Gordiyenko, G. Shustakova, S. D. Bader, V. Novosad

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Proceedings Volume 5783, Infrared Technology and Applications XXXI; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.603647
Event: Defense and Security, 2005, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

A method of controlling the coordinate sensitivity in a high temperature superconducting microbolometer is described. A laser beam, precisely focused on the patterned superconducting structure, was used to nucleate a resistive area that is sensitive to external thermal effects. The electron beam lithography and wet chemical etching were applied as pattern transfer processes in epitaxial Y-Ba-Cu-O films. Two different sensor designs were tested: (i) 3 millimeters long and 40 micrometers wide stripe and (ii) 1.25 millimeters long, and 50 micron wide meander -like structure. It is shown experimentally that scanning the laser beam along the stripe leads to physical displacement of the sensitive area and, therefore may be used as a basis for imaging over a broad spectral range. Our approach, by which the coordinate sensitivity of a microfabricated superconducting stripe is controlled, is an alternative solution to Focal Plane Array (FPA) design. For example, patterning the superconducting film into a meander structure is equivalent to a two-dimensional detector array. In additional to the simplicity of the detector fabrication sequence (one step mask transfer), a clear advantage of this approach is the simplicity of the read-out process: an image is formed by registering the signal with only two electrical terminals. The proposed approach can be extended for imaging over a wide spectral range; the limiting factor is the wavelength-dependent efficiency of thermal conversion in the film/substrate system.

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V. Yefremenko, E. Gordiyenko, G. Shustakova, S. D. Bader, and V. Novosad "Superconducting microbolometer with controllable coordinate sensitivity: an alternative approach to FPA design", Proc. SPIE 5783, Infrared Technology and Applications XXXI, (31 May 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.603647

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