Suspending single-wall carbon nanotube thin film infrared bolometers on microchannels

Abstract

Suspended single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin film bolometers have been fabricated on microchannels patterned on Si substrates using electron-beam lithography. The much improved bolometric photoresponse is attributed to the reduced thermal link between SWCNT bolometer and substrate, which can be controlled by tuning the width and spacing of the microchannels. The detectivity D∗ up to 4.5×105 cm Hz1/2/W has been obtained at room temperature, which is at least five times better than that of the unsuspended counterpart and may be further improved via elimination of metallic SWCNTs and improvement of the charge and heat transport across the intertube junctions.