The project aims at establishing the feasibility of a novel infrared microbolometer sensor exploiting the thermal sensitivity of a free oscillating micro-nano-mechanical system (M & NEMS), whose resonant frequency changes with the infrared flux it absorbs. This is a concept out who was the subject of three patents.
The project addresses the needs of high resolution uncooled infrared imaging sensors (spectral band ranging from 8µm to 12µm) which is presently in expansion but whose next generation of products is still waiting for a breakthrough to reduce the pixel size, a key factor to improve performance and reduce the cost.
The objective of this post doctoral study is to achieve a proof of concept of this new architecture. In this outlook, the study will cover first the sizing of the device, then its design, implementation and validation at a single pixel level.