Wavelength and Thermal Distribution Selectable Microbolometers Based on Metamaterial Absorbers

Abstract

An uncooled microbolometer based on metamaterial absorbers is investigated. The absorption peak reaches 90%, and the peak wavelength can be tailored from 2.4 to 10.2 μm with corresponding bandwidth varying from 0.5 to 1.5 μm by tuning the geometric parameters of the absorbers, covering two atmosphere windows (3-5 μm and 8-14 μm). The thermal distribution in the microbolometer can be adjusted to realize a strong thermal response. In the given situation with a pixel size of 25.07 μm, the temperature response of the detector reaches 1.3 K. The microbolometer can be potentially used in thermal imaging at selected wavelengths in the mid-infrared and far-infrared regimes.

Keywords

• detectors
• microbolometers
• metamaterial absorbers
• absorption
• photothermal effect