Hot-electron superconducting nanobolometers-sensors and arrays of them for high sensitive Terahertz frequency range imaging radiometers

 V. A. Cherepenin, A. N. Vystavkin, A. G. Kovalenko, S. V Shitov, O. V. Koryukin, I. A. Cohn, A. A. Kuzmin, A. V. Uvarov, A. S. Il’in

Kotel’nikov Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics of RAS

Received March 22, 2011

 

Abstract. The comparative review of investigations and development state of super high sensitive superconducting nanobolometers-sensors for terahertz frequency range imaging array radiometers is presented. The conclusion concerning preferred design of such bolometers is made. Hot-electron nanobolometers with combined radiation absorber and transition edge sensor (TES) are most promising for the achievement of utmost high sensitivity as opposed to bolometers which radiation absorbers are made as suspended membranes and transition edge sensors are just membrane temperature measuring elements. Dimensions of absorber-TES combination have to be small to the limit – down to tens of nanometer, and operation temperature has to be super low – down to 30 – 40 mK. The networks of immersion lens, planar antenna, microstrip and coplanar lines with nanobolometer coupled into them have to be used to match THz radiation energy transfer to such small nanobolometers. The design, fabrication technology and application of imaging radiometers using mentioned above nanobolometers-sensors are considered.

Keywords:  terahertz detector arrays, utmost high sensitivity, imaging radiometers.