High Sensitivity $17~\mu \text{m}$ Pixel Pitch $640\times 512$ Uncooled Infrared Focal Plane Arrays Based on Amorphous Vanadium Oxide Thin Films

This letter presents a 17 μm pixel pitch 640 × 512 uncooled infrared focal plane arrays based on the double sacrificial layer microbolometer technology incorporating amorphous vanadium oxide thin film and frequency selective structure. The amorphous vanadium oxide thin-film features low-noise and high-thermal coefficient of resistance characteristics, which help to improve the radiometric performance of the microbolometer. By incorporating a frequency selective second platform, the responsivity of the microbolometer was improved by nearly 30% over 8~14 μm spectra band. Noise equivalent temperature difference of less than 35 mK was obtained at 300 K ambient temperature with f/1.0 optics.