Technique for thermal isolation of antenna-coupled infrared microbolometers

A new method was developed to thermally isolate monolithic antenna-coupled infrared microbolometers from their substrate. Using a SiO2 sacrificial layer to create a 400 mn thick Si3N4 membrane, square spiral antennas coupled to Ni microbolometers were fabricated and tested. The responsivity of the thermally isolated devices is 164 times greater than a similar device that is not fabricated on a membrane. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.