Germanium silicon tin oxide thin films for uncooled infrared detectors
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Abstract
Microbolometer is a class of infrared detector whose resistance changes when the temperature changes. In this work, we deposited and characterized Germanium Silicon Oxide thin films mixed with Tin (Ge-Si-Sn-O) for uncooled infrared detection. Ge-Sn-O was deposited by co-sputtering of Sn and Ge-Si targets in an Ar+O environment using a radio frequency (RF) and direct current (DC) sputtering system. The electrical and optical properties of the thin films were tested to verify whether Ge-Si-Sn-O could be used as a sensing material in a microbolometer. From this testing, it was shown that with the an atomic composition consisting of Ge0.36Si0.04Sn0.11O0.43 the Ge-Si-Sn-O alloy could have a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) greater than -3.5 %/K, optical band gap of around 1 eV, and noise value of 300 μV/√Hz at 10Hz. With these values, besides the slightly high noise value, it has been determined that Ge-Si-Sn-O alloy is a viable candidate for use in microbolometer development.