Decoupling absorption and radiative cooling in mid-wave infrared bolometric elements

We present a spectrally selective, passively cooled mid-wave infrared bolometric absorber engineered to spatially and spectrally decouple infrared absorption and thermal emission. The structure leverages an antenna-coupled metal-insulator-metal resonance for mid-wave infrared normal incidence photon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOptics letters Vol. 48; no. 12; p. 3155
Main Authors Ware, Alexander, Bergthold, Morgan, Mansfield, Noah, Sakotic, Zarko, Scott, Ethan A, Harris, C Thomas, Wasserman, Daniel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 15.06.2023
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Summary:We present a spectrally selective, passively cooled mid-wave infrared bolometric absorber engineered to spatially and spectrally decouple infrared absorption and thermal emission. The structure leverages an antenna-coupled metal-insulator-metal resonance for mid-wave infrared normal incidence photon absorption and a long-wave infrared optical phonon absorption feature, aligned closer to peak room temperature thermal emission. The phonon-mediated resonant absorption enables a strong long-wave infrared thermal emission feature limited to grazing angles, leaving the mid-wave infrared absorption feature undisturbed. The two independently controlled absorption/emission phenomena demonstrate decoupling of the photon detection mechanism from radiative cooling and offer a new design approach enabling ultra-thin, passively cooled mid-wave infrared bolometers.
ISSN:1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.491601