Bias circuit elements for applying voltages/currents to a photodetector are described. Bias circuit elements described are active devices, e.g. mosfets, directly connected to the photodetector signal point, which inject noise that will be amplified/integrated. Lowering 1/f noise in these bias devices uses multiple parallel mosfets and switching the parallel mosfets gates between a bias activation level signal and a voltage sufficient to drive the mosfet into accumulation Gate switching may be accomplished by at least two partially out of phase clocking signals, with at least one parallel mosfet applying bias while another is in accumulation in continuously switched time periods. Gate switching at a frequency higher than the imaging bandwidth, will have negligible effect on the image signal. During the accumulation phase traps present within the conducting channel of each MOSFET will be depopulated, essentially resetting the MOSFET's 1/f noise, allowing for long integration times while controlling 1/f noise.

A method for manufacturing a thermal sensor, the method may include forming, using ion etching, one or more first holes that pass through (a) an initial layer, (a) a first oxide layer, (c) a first semiconductor substrate; filling the one or more first holes with oxide to form supporting elements; fabricating one or more thermal semiconductor sensing elements; forming one or more second holes in the one or more upper layers and the first oxide layer; applying an isotropic etching process to remove the first semiconductor substrate and expose the supporting elements to provide a suspended first oxide layer.

Device and method of forming a device are disclosed. The device includes a substrate with a transistor component disposed in a transistor region and a micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) component disposed on a membrane over a lower sensor cavity in a hybrid region. The MEMS component serves as thermoelectric-based infrared sensor, a thermopile line structure which includes an absorber layer disposed over a portion of oppositely doped first and second line segments. A back-end-of-line (BEOL) dielectric is disposed on the substrate having a plurality of inter layer dielectric (ILD) layers with metal and via levels. The ILD layers include metal lines and via contacts for interconnecting the components of the device. The metal lines in the metal levels are configured to define a BEOL or an upper sensor cavity over the lower sensor cavity, and metal lines of a first metal level of the BEOL dielectric are configured to define a geometry of the MEMS component.

Device and method of forming a device are disclosed. The device includes a substrate with a transistor component disposed in a transistor region and a micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) component disposed on a membrane over a lower sensor cavity in a hybrid region. The MEMS component serves as thermoelectric-based infrared sensor, a thermopile line structure which includes an absorber layer disposed over a portion of oppositely doped first and second line segments. A back-end-of-line (BEOL) dielectric is disposed on the substrate having a plurality of inter layer dielectric (ILD) layers with metal and via levels. The ILD layers include metal lines and via contacts for interconnecting the components of the device. The metal lines in the metal levels are configured to define a BEOL or an upper sensor cavity over the lower sensor cavity, and metal lines of a first metal level of the BEOL dielectric are configured to define a geometry of the MEMS component.

Device and method of forming a device are disclosed. The device includes a substrate with a transistor component disposed in a transistor region and a micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) component disposed on a membrane over a lower sensor cavity in a hybrid region. The MEMS component serves as thermoelectric-based infrared sensor, a thermopile line structure which includes an absorber layer disposed over a portion of oppositely doped first and second line segments. A back-end-of-line (BEOL) dielectric is disposed on the substrate having a plurality of inter layer dielectric (ILD) layers with metal and via levels. The ILD layers include metal lines and via contacts for interconnecting the components of the device. The metal lines in the metal levels are configured to define a BEOL or an upper sensor cavity over the lower sensor cavity, and metal lines of a first metal level of the BEOL dielectric are configured to define a geometry of the MEMS component.

An infrared detector useful in, e.g., infrared cameras, includes a substrate having an array of infrared detectors and a readout integrated circuit interconnected with the array disposed on an upper surface thereof, for one or more embodiments. A generally planar window is spaced above the array, the window being substantially transparent to infrared light. A mesa is bonded to the window. The mesa has closed marginal side walls disposed between an outer periphery of a lower surface of the window and an outer periphery of the upper surface of the substrate and defines a closed cavity between the window and the array that encloses the array. A solder seal bonds the mesa to the substrate so as to seal the cavity.

A microbolometer pixel unit for detection of terahertz radiation includes a substrate, a thermistor structure, and an optical absorber structure. The thermistor structure includes a plurality of microbolometer pixels disposed on the substrate. Each pixel includes a thermistor platform suspended above the substrate, a thermistor support member holding the thermistor platform, and a thermistor disposed on the thermistor platform and having an electrical resistance that varies in accordance with a temperature of the thermistor. The optical absorber structure includes an absorber platform suspended above the thermistor structure, an absorber support member holding the absorber platform and including a plurality of support elements, each support element providing a thermal conduction path from the absorber platform to the thermistor platform of a respective one of the microbolometer pixels, and an optical absorber disposed on the absorber platform to absorb incoming terahertz radiation to generate heat to change the temperature of the thermistors.

A temperature monitoring system includes a semiconductor member mounted onto the surface of an object having a surface whose temperature is to be monitored. The semiconductor member has a temperature-dependent bandgap with an absorption edge that varies with temperature. A light source is configured to illuminate the semiconductor member with monochromatic light. The monochromatic light has a wavelength equal to an absorption edge wavelength that is associated with the absorption edge when the semiconductor member is at a specified temperature. An imaging device is configured to receive light reflected from the semiconductor member when illuminated with the monochromatic light such that a surface temperature of the object is at the specified temperature when a change in an amount of reflected light that is received indicates that the wavelength of the monochromatic light is equal to the absorption edge wavelength at the specified temperature.

A method of preparation of focal plane arrays of infrared bolometers includes processing carbon nanotubes to increase a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), followed by patterning to form focal plane arrays for infrared imaging.

A method of manufacturing a detector capable of detecting a wavelength range [.sub.8; .sub.14] centered on a wavelength .sub.10, including: forming said device on a substrate by depositing a sacrificial layer totally embedding said device; forming, on the sacrificial layer, a cap including first, second, and third optical structures transparent in said range [.sub.8; .sub.14], the second and third optical structures having equivalent refraction indexes at wavelength .sub.10 respectively greater than or equal to 3.4 and smaller than or equal to 2.3; forming a vent of access to the sacrificial layer through a portion of the cap, and then applying, through the vent, an etching to totally remove the sacrificial layer.