Serpentine geometry for enhanced performance of nanometer-thin platinum bolometers

We report on the modeling, fabrication and characterization of a new serpentine geometry for platinum bolometers realized with plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). The measured responsivity of 7.5 · 10
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VW
^-1
A
^-1
of the proposed structure is almost four times higher than that of previously published PEALD deposited platinum bolometers with a traditional square absorber design [1]. This improvement was achieved without increasing the sensor's footprint or fabrication complexity.