Patterned focal plane arrays of carbon nanotube thin film bolometers with high temperature coefficient of resistance and improved detectivity for infrared imaging
AssigneeCarbon Solutions, Inc.
InventorsElena Borisova Bekyarova, Mikhail Efimovich Itkis, Ramesh Palanisamy, Robert Cort Haddon
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Abstract
A method of preparation of focal plane arrays of infrared bolometers includes processing carbon nanotubes to increase a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), followed by patterning to form focal plane arrays for infrared imaging.
Claims15
A focal plane array for an infrared (IR) microbolometric detector, comprising
- an infrared-sensitive pixel array comprising of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) subjected to a physical processing step and a nanotube sidewall chemical functionalization step of covalently bonding an organic functional group to the sidewall, thereby increasing a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) for semiconducting SWNTs pixels by from about 1% to about 5% per degree C.
A focal plane array for an infrared (IR) microbolometer detector, comprising an infrared-sensitive pixel array comprising semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) subjected to a physical processing step and a nanotube sidewall chemical functionalization step of covalently bonding an organic functional group to the sidewall, thereby increasing a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) for semiconducting SWNTs pixels by from about 1% to about 5% per degree C.;
- further wherein the semiconducting SWNTs are subjected to:
- i) ultrasonication;
- ii) shear mixing;
- iii) the sidewall chemical functionalization step;
- and
- iv) thermal annealing in vacuum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.