Sensitive and fast terahertz detector using a MEMS resonator
Research members： Dr. Ya Zhang
Research fields： Electrical and electronic engineering
Departments： Institute of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics
Keywords： terahertz sensor, infrared sensor, bolometer, MEMS
Summary
We have developed an uncooled THz bolometer by using GaAs doubly clamped Microelectromechanical (MEMS) beam resonators. The MEMS bolometer detects the change in the resonance frequency caused by THz heating. Owing to its high quality(Q)-factor, the MEMS resonator can detect an ultra-small temperature rise (1 μK) on the beam, which is at least 1000 times more sensitive than the present best uncooled temperature sensors such as vanadium oxide(VOx). By using MEMS resonator, we have developed an THz bolometer with a noise equivalent power (NEP) about 20-100 pw/Hz0.5, and an operation bandwidth of ~5 kHz, which is ~100 times faster than other uncooled THz thermal detectors.
Reference articles and patents
- Y. Zhang et al., APL 108, 163503(2016). DOI: 10.1063/1.4947444
- Y. Zhang et al., APL 111, 023504(2017). DOI: 10.1063/1.4993740
- Y. Zhang et al., JAP 125, 151602 (2019). DOI: 10.1063/1.5045256
Contact
University Research Administration Center (URAC),
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
urac[at]ml.tuat.ac.jp
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