Antenna-Coupled Terahertz Microbolometers with Meander Structures: the Comparison of Titanium and Platinum Thermistors

Uncooled terahertz (THz) detectors with low noise-equivalent power (NEP) are especially important for the application of non-destructive sensing in many fields. Antenna-coupled THz microbolometers with meander thermistors of titanium (Ti) and Platinum (Pt) are studied to develop room-temperature THz detectors. The responsivity and NEP of the microbolometer with a meander Ti thermistor are much improved for 1 THz irradiation in comparison with those of the previous one with a straight Ti thermistor. The THz performance of the meander Ti bolometer is much better than the one with a meander Pt thermistor. Those results can be explained by the increase of the thermistor resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) through innovating the meander line and also improving the fabrication process based on the electron beam (EB) lithography.