Wide bandwidth room-temperature THz imaging array based on antenna-coupled MOSFET bolometer

Abstract

We report on the design, fabrication and measurements of a new THz sensor concept based on an antenna-coupled MOSFET bolometer for room-temperature passive THz imaging for security and medical-diagnostic applications. The device is fabricated in a 180-nm CMOS SOI technology followed by a post-CMOS MEMS process which guaranties a very high thermal insulation of the sensor. In this sensor, the wide bandwidth THz antenna absorbing the electromagnetic field is directly coupled to the bolometer for maximum energy collection, whereas its design aims at minimizing its thermal mass as is necessary for fast frame rates. DC measurements before and after the MEMS process as well as sensor output signal time constant and THz antenna pattern measurements are presented. The final sensor is part of a large pixel array of 117 elements. Simulated array characteristic is presented proving that the mutual interaction between the pixels is small enough for imaging applications. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.