MICROMACHINED SILICON BOLOMETERS AS DETECTORS OF SOFT-X-RAY, ULTRAVIOLET-VISIBLE AND INFRARED RADIATION

This paper presents the development of micromachined thin-film silicon microbolometers which can be used for detection of soft X-ray, UV, vi sible and infrared radiation. The detector structure is a 1 mu m thick polysilicon/Si3N4 membrane suspended over a cavity. This structure ha s been obtained by anisotropic etching of silicon with a previously de posited polysilicon/Si3N4 sandwich. Alternatively, porous silicon has been used as the sacrificial layer. Devices have been characterized. G ood values of the voltage responsivity and detectivity have been obtai ned.