Evolution of Australian microbolometer and uncooled IR sensor technology

摘要

Abstract: This paper describes the development in Australia of thin film resistance microbolometer technology and associated infrared sensors, beginning with simple device structures more than 40 years ago and culminating in contemporary micromachined focal plane detector arrays. A brief summary is given of research achievements, with the aim of placing in historic perspective Australian work in comparison with overseas development. The research and development projects described herein were carried out at the Defence Science and Technology Organization (DSTO), Salisbury, South Australia, in collaboration with other national research organizations, and supported by the Australian microelectronic and electro- optic industries. The core technology of fabricating bolometer detectors by bulk and surface micromachining on silicon wafer substrates was established at DSTO during the 1970s, more than a decade before the acronym MEMS was coined, and thus represents pioneering work in this field, both in Australia and in the international research community.!24