BOLOMETRIC DETECTOR WITH A MIM STRUCTURE INCLUDING A THERMOMETER ELEMENT

• US 20150226612A1
• Filed: 02/09/2015
• Published: 08/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Inventors: BOUTAMI, Salim, OUVRIER-BUFFET, Jean-Louis, YON, Jean-Jacques, PALANCHOKE, Ujwol
• Application Number:
  US14/617,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20150226612A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/02 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0853 having infrared absorbers other than the usual absorber layers deposited on infrared detectors like bolometers, wherein the heat propagation between the absorber and the detecting element occurs within a solid
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/20 using resistors, thermistors or semiconductors sensitive to radiation, e.g. photoconductive devices

Abstract

A bolometric detector including at least:

• • a substrate;
  • a membrane suspended above the substrate by support elements;
  • an absorber element comprising at least one MIM structure formed by a lower metal element, an upper metal element and a dielectric element arranged between the lower metal element and the upper metal element;
  • a thermometer element comprising at least one thermometric material;
  • wherein the membrane includes at least the upper metal element of the MIM structure and the thermometric material, and wherein the thermometric material is part of the dielectric element of the MIM structure.

Claims

1. A bolometric detector including at least:

a substrate;

a membrane suspended above the substrate by support elements;

an absorber element comprising at least one MIM structure formed by a lower metal element, an upper metal element and a dielectric element arranged between the lower metal element and the upper metal element;

a thermometer element comprising at least one thermometric material;

wherein the membrane includes at least the upper metal element of the MIM structure and the thermometric material, and wherein the thermometric material is part of the dielectric element of the MIM structure.

2. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the thermometric material includes an electrical resistivity higher than about 0.1 Ω

·

cm and a permittivity a value of the real part of which is positive and a value of the imaginary part of which is lower than about 20% of that of the real part at a wavelength for which the absorption efficiency of the bolometric detector is maximum.

3. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the lower metal element and the upper metal element is lower than or equal to λ

/(4 n), with λ

corresponding to a wavelength for which the absorption efficiency of the bolometric detector is maximum and n corresponding to the actual refractive index of the MIM structure.

4. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the membrane includes the lower metal element of the MIM structure.

5. The bolometric detector according to claim 4, further including a reflector arranged on the substrate, and a reflective cavity formed between the reflector and the lower metal element of the MIM structure such that a distance between the reflector and the lower metal element of the MIM structure is equal to about half a wavelength for which the absorption efficiency of the bolometric detector is maximum.

6. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the lower metal element of the MIM structure is arranged on the substrate such that an empty space being part of the dielectric element of the MIM structure is arranged between the membrane and the lower metal element.

7. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the membrane further includes a first dielectric layer electrically insulating the upper metal element from the thermometric material, and a second dielectric layer electrically insulating the thermometric material from the lower metal element, and wherein the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer are part of the dielectric element of the MIM structure.

8. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the absorber element includes several MIM structures each including an upper metal element distinct from the upper metal elements of the other MIM structures, and wherein the thermometric material is common to the MIM structures.

9. The bolometric detector according to claim 8, wherein each MIM structure includes a lower metal element distinct from the lower metal elements of the other MIM structures, or wherein the MIM structures include a lower metal element common to all the MIM structures.

10. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the thermometric material is electrically connected to an electronic circuit of the substrate by at least one electrically conductive layer of the membrane and by the support elements.

11. The bolometric detector according to claim 1, wherein the membrane is mechanically and electrically connected to the support elements by thermally insulating arms.

12. A thermal detection device including several bolometric detectors according to claim 1, said bolometric detectors being arranged as an array.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the bolometric detectors are arranged by forming several sub-arrays, the bolometric detectors of each of said sub-arrays being able to detect a range of wavelengths different from those intended to be detected by the bolometric detectors of the other sub-arrays.

14. The device according to claim 12, wherein the array includes at least one thresholding bolometric detector including a membrane suspended above the substrate and thermally connected to the substrate.

15. The device according to claim 12, wherein the array includes at least one reference bolometric detector not including a MIM structure.