ABSTRACT

A bolometer is a radiation detector that measures temperature by acting as a

resistor in an electrical circuit. It is made of an absorber of heat capacity C,
thermally connected with conductance G to a heat sink. The absorber is a thin film
of conducting material evaporated on a dielectric substrate. It is essential for the
film to have a linear correlation between resistance and temperature. Incident
power on the absorber changes the film temperature, which in turn changes its
resistance. By sending a current into the bolometer the potential difference across
the bolometer can be measured. The temperature of the incident power can then be
determined. Four main values are used to assess a bolometer. The first is the Noise
Equivalent Power, NEP, which determines the sensitivity of the device. The second
is the Responsivity, which is a measure of how well the bolometer couples to
incoming power and is calculated in output volts per unit of input power. Next is
the conductance, G, which is the amount of output power per unit of temperature
from the incident radiation. Last is the time constant which is measured in seconds
and determines how quickly the bolometer responds to the incident power. In order
to optimize a bolometer, the NEP and Responsivity should be maximized, and the
time constant should be minimized. Since the NEP must be minimized, the size of
the bolometer should be minimized. The larger the responsivity the smaller the
NEP. Responsivity is maximized by choosing the absorber to be a metal or semiconductor with a strong linear correlation between temperature and resistance
around the working temperature, which is the temperature range in which the
bolometer will be used. G must be minimized. Since the substrate mass is much
larger than the film mass, the conductance is mostly determined by the substrate,
thus the substrate is generally a dielectric since it has a small G. In order to
minimize the time constant, referring to the third relation, here a large G would be
optimal. The time constant is also effected by the film material as well as the size
of the bolometer. According to the relation a larger bolometer is better.
Using these relations as a guideline for building a bolometer, once the metal film is
chosen, it is important to experiment with different substrates, film thickness, and
film and substrate areas to determine the combination for the optimal performance.

Keywords: Bolometer, Infrared, NEP, Conductance, Heat capacity, Thin films