Plasmonically Enhanced ALSCN Nanoplates As Uncooled And Ultra-Fast Single-Pixel Detectors For IR Imaging

This paper presents a new class of miniaturized, uncooled, and ultra-fast infrared (IR) sensors based on 30%-doped Aluminum Scandium Nitride (AlScN) nanoplate resonant thermal detectors (NPRTDs) that will leverage high electromechanical coupling, plasmonic enhancement, and optomechanical readout to potentially improve the state-of-the-art IR sensing capabilities. The combination of small footprint, high selectivity, high responsivity, low noise, and fast detection speed at the pixel level aims to enable innovative thermal imagers through multi-pixel integration. These preliminary results demonstrate that a Noise Equivalent Power (NEP) of around 1 pW/Hz^1/2 and a thermal time constant (τ) of around 470 μs are achievable. This work represents the first experimental demonstration of plasmonic absorbers that utilize AlScN as dielectric layer, which enables a further improvement in both the thermal resistance and the Temperature Coefficient of Frequency (TCF).