Terahertz Antenna-coupled Microbolometer: Impact of High Heater Resistance

Abstract

We report the terahertz bolometric detection by antenna-coupled microbolometer that consists of a titanium (Ti) meander thermistor, and a Ti heater coupled to the antenna. In this study, we investigate the impact of high resistance heater to the microbolometer performances. Two antenna models of folded and halfwave dipoles are investigated to capture 1 THz radiation and transfer the energy to the 586Ω and 91Ω resistance heaters, respectively. A minimum noise equivalent power (NEP) of 39 pW/Hz1/2 and 66 pW/Hz1/2 are obtained for folded and halfwave dipole antenna-coupled microbolometer, respectively. The results confirm the usefulness of the higher heater resistance and proper impedance matching to the antenna for microbolometer performance improvement.