The present disclosure relates to a microbolometer comprising an array of pixels, each pixel comprising one or more detection cells, each detection cell comprising an absorption layer (530), wherein: the pitch of the detection cells in at least one direction in the plane of pixel array is between 5 and 11 μm; a pixel fill factor FF of the absorption layer (530) of the one or more detection cells in each pixel is in a range 0.10 to 0.50; and a sheet resistance Rs of the absorption layer (530) of each detection cell is between 16 and 189 ohm/sq.

Optical microcavity resonance measurements can have readout noise matching the fundamental limit set by thermal fluctuations in the cavity. Small-heat-capacity, wavelength-scale microcavities can be used as bolometers that bypass the limitations of other bolometer technologies. The microcavities can be implemented as photonic crystal cavities or micro-disks that are thermally coupled to strong mid-IR or LWIR absorbers, such as pyrolytic carbon columns. Each microcavity and the associated absorber(s) rest on hollow pillars that extend from a substrate and thermally isolate the cavity and the absorber(s) from the rest of the bolometer. This ensures that thermal transfer to the absorbers is predominantly from radiation as opposed to from conduction. As the absorbers absorb thermal radiation, they shift the resonance wavelength of the cavity. The cavity transduces this thermal change into an optical signal by reflecting or scattering more (or less) near-infrared (NIR) probe light as a function of the resonance wavelength shift.

An absorber structure for a thermal detector, the absorber structure including edges defining a basic form, a plurality of first legs of electrically conducting material joined in an electrically conductive manner to form, between the edges of the absorber structure, a grid having openings, the first legs forming at least one continuous connection between the edges of the absorber structure; and a plurality of second legs of electrically conducting material joined in an electrically conductive manner to the first legs, wherein the second legs protrude from the first legs into the openings of the grid and terminate at points of termination located at a distance from adjacent first legs.

The present disclosure relates to a microbolometer comprising an array of pixels, each pixel comprising one or more detection cells, each detection cell comprising an absorption layer (530) forming a quarter-wave cavity (533) having a height (h) of between 1.5 and 5 μm, wherein the pitch of the detection cells in at least one axis in a plane of the pixel array is in the range 2.4h to 3.6h.

An infrared imaging micro-bolometer integrates a membrane assembled in suspension on a substrate by support arms. The membrane includes an absorbing material configured to capture infrared radiations and a thermometric material connected to the absorbing material configured to perform a transduction of the infrared radiations captured by the absorbing material The thermometric material is arranged on a surface area smaller than 0.4 times a surface area of the membrane. The membrane also includes at least one central dielectric layer arranged between the absorbing material and the thermometric material. Recesses are formed in the absorbing material and in the at least one dielectric layer in portions of the membrane devoid of the thermometric material.

Thin film infrared (IR) imaging devices including a metalens layer configured to focus IR radiation onto a plasmonic absorber layer are provided for thin form factor and lightweight design of IR imaging devices. The devices can be produced using directed assembly methods and transfer printing of nanoelements. The fabrication methods are scalable and provide low cost means to produce the IR imaging devices.

An infrared device comprises a substrate. A configuration for emitting infrared radiation is supported by the substrate. The configuration comprises an electrically conducting layer arrangement of less than 50 nm thickness between dielectric layers. In addition, a heater arranged for heating the configuration to emit the infrared radiation is supported by the substrate.

In one aspect, the invention provides a nanobolometer cell including a base layer, a dielectric spacer layer above and adjacent to the base layer, an ultrathin silicon film above and adjacent to the spacer layer, and at least one plasmonic optical antenna resonator above and adjacent to the silicon film.

The present invention relates to a metamaterial focal plane array for broad spectrum imaging. Electromagnetic energy in the form of light is absorbed in or on a metamaterial absorber and a subsequent hot carriers are collected either in a semiconductor space charge region (e.g. P-N junction), or in some other modern collection scheme. Following the accumulation of photogenerated charge (electrons or holes), the signal is then converted to a digital signal using conventional or slightly modified ROIC modules.

A thermoelectric conversion material contains a matrix composed of a semiconductor and nanoparticles disposed in the matrix, and the nanoparticles have a lattice constant distribution Δd/d of 0.0055 or more.