Ultra low-cost uncooled infrared detector arrays in CMOS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A single pixel microbolometer comprising:
- at least one suspended diode;
an infrared absorber layer; and
at least one of support arm for holding the at least one suspended diode, wherein the at least one of the support arm for carrying electrical signals to the at least one diode using an interconnect layer.
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Abstract
Micromachined, CMOS p+-active/n-well diodes are used as infrared sensing elements in uncooled Focal Plane Arrays (FPA). The FPAs are fabricated using a standard CMOS process followed by post-CMOS bulk-micromachining steps without any critical lithography or complicated deposition processes. Micromachining steps include Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) to reach the bulk silicon and anisotropic silicon wet etching together with electrochemical etch-stop technique to obtain thermally isolated p+-active/n-well diodes. The FPAs are monolithically integrated with their readout circuit since they are fabricated in any standard CMOS technology.
43 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A single pixel microbolometer comprising:
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at least one suspended diode;
an infrared absorber layer; and
at least one of support arm for holding the at least one suspended diode, wherein the at least one of the support arm for carrying electrical signals to the at least one diode using an interconnect layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for providing a single pixel microbolometer comprising:
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providing connection pads protected during post-CMOS processes with polymer/metal combinations without critical post-CMOS lithography, wherein critical lithography is defined as a lithography process requiring an accuracy of less than 5 μ
m;
dry etching using CMOS metal layers as precisely defined masks for the pixel formation; and
wet-etching using a silicon etchant for creation of a suspended diode structure. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A focal plane array (FPA) comprising:
an array of single pixel microbolometers wherein each of the microbolometers comprise at least one suspended diode;
an infrared absorber layer; and
at least one of support arm for holding the at least one suspended diode, wherein the at least one of the support arm for carrying electrical signals to the at least one diode using polysilicon or metal as an interconnect layer.- View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for providing a single pixel microbolometer comprising:
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using the layers of CMOS process as the protection mask during post-CMOS processes;
using a post-CMS deposited polymer/metal combination as the protection of the pads and other regions that require protection during post-CMOS processes;
using Reactive Ion Etching (RIE);
etching in oxygen and flourine based gases such as CHF3;
allowing narrow openings, resulting in high fill factor;
allowing etching of oxide layers to create openings to reach silicon; and
allowing etching of silicon to form suspended diode structures.
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Specification