Thin Film AlN Microbolometer for Very Long-Wave Infrared Detection

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Tallavajhula, Vivek, Sakotic, Zarko, Anderson, Ian, Wang, Yinan, Wasserman, Daniel, Lu, Ruochen
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Tallavajhula, Vivek
Sakotic, Zarko
Anderson, Ian
Wang, Yinan
Wasserman, Daniel
Lu, Ruochen
author_facet Tallavajhula, Vivek
Sakotic, Zarko
Anderson, Ian
Wang, Yinan
Wasserman, Daniel
Lu, Ruochen
contents We demonstrate a suspended thin-film aluminum nitride (AlN) microbolometer for narrowband very long-wave infrared detection. The device uses a 100-nm-thick AlN membrane suspended above a Pt back reflector by a 1-um air gap. Resonant absorption is set by the AlN transverse optical phonon near 15.4 um and is strengthened by suspension above the reflector. A periodic perforation pattern reduces membrane thermal mass and enhances absorption without further thinning the film. DC resistance measurements under tunable infrared illumination verify bolometric operation, and the measured spectral response follows the absorption profile expected from spectroscopic measurement of passive devices. Narrowband response is observed in the 14--18 um range, with peak responsivity of 920.8 ppm/mW at 15.48 um. This platform can enable compact wavelength-selective thermal detectors for multispectral imaging, on-chip infrared spectroscopy, and chemical sensing.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_22301
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Thin Film AlN Microbolometer for Very Long-Wave Infrared Detection
Tallavajhula, Vivek
Sakotic, Zarko
Anderson, Ian
Wang, Yinan
Wasserman, Daniel
Lu, Ruochen
Optics
Applied Physics
We demonstrate a suspended thin-film aluminum nitride (AlN) microbolometer for narrowband very long-wave infrared detection. The device uses a 100-nm-thick AlN membrane suspended above a Pt back reflector by a 1-um air gap. Resonant absorption is set by the AlN transverse optical phonon near 15.4 um and is strengthened by suspension above the reflector. A periodic perforation pattern reduces membrane thermal mass and enhances absorption without further thinning the film. DC resistance measurements under tunable infrared illumination verify bolometric operation, and the measured spectral response follows the absorption profile expected from spectroscopic measurement of passive devices. Narrowband response is observed in the 14--18 um range, with peak responsivity of 920.8 ppm/mW at 15.48 um. This platform can enable compact wavelength-selective thermal detectors for multispectral imaging, on-chip infrared spectroscopy, and chemical sensing.
title Thin Film AlN Microbolometer for Very Long-Wave Infrared Detection
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.22301