Material Characterization and Ultimate Performance Calculations of Compensated n-Type Silicon Bolometer Detectors at Liquid-Helium Temperatures

The dependence of the resistivity and far infrared (FIR) absorptance on donor concentration, compensation, and temperature in compensated n-type Si is reported. The effect of environment, time constant, and spectral passband on the noise equivalent power (NEP) of the compensated Si bolometer is examined and compared with similar calculations for the compensated Ge bolometer.