Characterization of an amorphous Ge/sub x/Si/sub 1-x/O/sub y/ microbolometer for thermal imaging applications

A self-absorbing, self-supported microbolometer was fabricated using CMOS compatible surface micromachining technology. A high resistivity a-Ge/sub x/Si/sub 1-x/O/sub y/ resistor layer was suspended using an electrically conductive nichrome link. Prototype device fabrication and characterization indicates these devices may be suitable for application to commercial thermal imaging cameras. Detectivity of 6.7/spl times/10/sup 8/cm/spl radic/Hz/W, responsivity of 1/spl times/10/sup 5/ V/W, and thermal time constant of 13 ms were measured and a NETD value of 190 mK was calculated.