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