Linear uncooled microbolometer array based on VOx thin films

This paper describes the deposition of poly-crystal mixed vanadium oxide thin films on substrates of quartz glass and Si(1 0 0) by reactive ion-beam sputtering followed by post-deposition annealing, and the fabrication of experimental linear uncooled microbolometer array infrared detectors on the quartz substrate as well. SEM and XRD indicate that the films have a smooth compact surface morphology with needle like grains and poly-crystal structure of mixed vanadium oxides. The characteristics of the detectors are investigated to infrared radiation in the spectral region of 8-12 mum at an operation temperature of 296 K. At a chopping frequency of 30 Hz, the fabricated detectors exhibit D* of 1.89 x 10(8) cm Hz(1/2) W-1, NEP of 1.67 x 10(-11) W Hx(-1/2) and tau of 11 ms. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.