TERAHERTZ RADIATION DETECTOR, FOCAL PLANE ARRAY INCORPORATING TERAHERTZ DETECTOR, MULTISPECTRAL METAMATERIAL ABSORBER, AND COMBINED OPTICAL FILTER AND TERAHERTZ ABSORBER
First Claim
1. A focal plane array imaging system comprising a plurality of pixel sensors arranged in a periodic array on a common substrate, wherein each pixel sensor in the plurality of pixel sensors comprises:
- a resonant metamaterial absorber, anda micro-bolometer sensor mounted on the metamaterial absorber, andwherein adjacent pixel sensors in the plurality of pixel sensors are separated by thermal isolation regions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a detector comprising a metamaterial absorber and a micro-bolometer arranged to detect terahertz (THz) radiation. The metamaterial absorber can absorb multiple frequency bands, from the infrared and the THz regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The detector is scalable to be suitable for use in a focal plane array.
The invention also provides a hybrid of a plasmonic filter, e.g. for optical radiation, and a metamaterial absorber for terahertz (and/or infrared) radiation, to create a single material capable of absorbing narrow band terahertz radiation and filtering radiation in another part of the spectrum, e.g. optical radiation. Such material has great potential in future imaging technology where hybridisation can maximise the spectral information density of an optical system.
24 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A focal plane array imaging system comprising a plurality of pixel sensors arranged in a periodic array on a common substrate, wherein each pixel sensor in the plurality of pixel sensors comprises:
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a resonant metamaterial absorber, and a micro-bolometer sensor mounted on the metamaterial absorber, and wherein adjacent pixel sensors in the plurality of pixel sensors are separated by thermal isolation regions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A detector comprising:
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a resonant metamaterial absorber, and a micro-bolometer sensor mounted on the metamaterial absorber, wherein the metamaterial absorber comprises an electrically conductive active layer mounted on a first surface of a dielectric material, an electrically conductive ground layer mounted on a second surface of a dielectric material opposite the first surface, and wherein the electrically conductive active layer has a resonant geometry arranged to couple to the electric field of an incident THz radiation or infrared (IR) wave.
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15. A device comprising:
a metamaterial absorber comprising; a layer dielectric material; a first electrically conductive active layer mounted on a first surface of the dielectric material, an electrically conductive ground layer mounted on a second surface of the dielectric material opposite the first surface, and a second electrically conductive active layer mounted in the dielectric material between the electrically conductive active layer and the electrically conductive ground layer, wherein the first electrically conductive active layer has a resonant geometry arranged to couple to the electric field of an incident THz radiation wave, and wherein the second electrically conductive active layer comprises a plurality of resonant structures arranged to couple to the electric field of an incident infrared (IR) radiation wave. - View Dependent Claims (16)
- 17. A combined plasmonic filter and THz radiation absorber device comprising a resonant metamaterial absorber having an electrically conductive ground layer, an electrically conductive active layer having a resonant geometry, and a dielectric material separating the ground layer from the active layer, the device includes a surface plasmon supporting layer patterned with a periodic array of surface discontinuities to function as a plasmonic filter.
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22. A multispectral device for filtering optical radiation and absorbing THz radiation, the device comprising a plurality of filter/absorber hybrid cells mounted in a periodic array, each filter/absorber hybrid cell comprising:
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a resonant metamaterial absorber having an electrically conductive ground layer, an electrically conductive active layer having a resonant geometry, and a dielectric material separating the ground layer from the active layer, and a surface plasmon supporting layer patterned with a periodic array of surface discontinuities to function as a plasmonic filter. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification