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Electro-Optical Characterization of an Amorphous Germanium-Tin (Ge1-XSnx) Microbolometer

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Abstract

The utilization of amorphous germanium-tin (Ge1-xSnx) semiconducting thin films as temperature-sensing layers in microbolometers was recently presented and patented. The work in this paper was performed as an extension of the latest study to acquire better Sn concentrations % for microbolometer applications. In this work, Ge1-xSnx thin films with various Sn concentrations %, x, where 0.31 ≤ x ≤ 0.48, were sputter-deposited. The elemental composition of each film was evaluated using energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and the surface morphology was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), showing average roughness values between ~ 0.2 and 0.8 nm. Measurements of the sheet resistance versus temperature were performed and analyzed, revealing temperature coefficients of resistance, TCRs, ranging from –3.11%/K to –2.52%/K for x ranging from 0.31 to 0.40 above which the Ge1-xSnx thin film was found to exhibit metallic behavior at 0.40 < x ≤ 0.48. Empirical relationships relating the resistivity, TCR, and Sn concentration % of the amorphous Ge1-xSnx thin films were derived. One of the films with a 31% Sn concentration (Ge0.69Sn0.31) was used to fabricate 10×10 μm2 microbolometer prototypes using electron-beam lithography and lift-off techniques, and the microbolometer was fabricated on top of oxidized silicon substrates with no air gap between them. The noise behavior and the maximum detected signal of the fabricated microbolometer were measured. The signal-to-noise ratio, voltage responsivity, and noise equivalent power values of the prototypes were calculated. Finally, the expected performance of a proposed air-bridge microbolometer configuration was calculated.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgment

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of   Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through the project no. (IFKSURG-2-478).

Funding

This study was funded by the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia through the project no. IFKSURG-2-478.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia

    Esam Bahaidra & Nacer Debbar

  2. KACST-TIC in Radio Frequency and Photonics for the e-Society (RFTONICS), King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia

    Najeeb Al-Khalli & Mohamed Abdel-Rahman

  3. King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology (KAIN), King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Najeeb Al-Khalli, Mahmoud Hezam & Mohammad Alduraibi

  4. Physics Department, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 13318, Saudi Arabia

    Mahmoud Hezam

  5. Physics and Astronomy Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad Alduraibi

  6. Institut Quantique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada

    Bouraoui Ilahi

Authors
  1. Esam Bahaidra
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  2. Najeeb Al-Khalli
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  3. Mahmoud Hezam
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  4. Mohammad Alduraibi
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  5. Bouraoui Ilahi
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  6. Nacer Debbar
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  7. Mohamed Abdel-Rahman
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Contributions

Esam Bahaidra: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, and writing, original draft

Najeeb Al-Khalli: data curation, formal analysis, investigation, and visualization

Mahmoud Hezam: prepared Figs. 1 and -2 and formal analysis (supporting)

Mohammad Alduraibi: supervision and writing, review and editing

B. Ilahi: prepared Fig. 7 and formal analysis (supporting)

Nacer Debbar: supervision and writing, review and editing

Mohamed Abdel-Rahman: supervision and writing, review and editing

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Alduraibi.

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Bahaidra, E., Al-Khalli, N., Hezam, M. et al. Electro-Optical Characterization of an Amorphous Germanium-Tin (Ge1-XSnx) Microbolometer. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 44, 233–244 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-023-00909-2

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