Design analysis of a high T c superconducting microbolometer

Abstract

We propose an antenna‐coupled microbolometer based on the resistive transition of a high T_c superconducting film as a detector for far infrared and millimeter waves. Such microbolometers can be mechanically stronger, more easily fabricated, and much faster than conventional bolometric infrared detectors. A design analysis shows that a noise equivalent power of 2.5×10⁻¹² W Hz^−1/2 is achievable for modulation frequencies up to 10 kHz. The superconducting film must be of high quality with narrow resistive transition and low 1/f noise.