Silicon Germanium Oxide (Si x Ge y O 1-x-y ) Infrared Sensitive Material for Uncooled Detectors

This paper presents the formation and the characterization of silicon germanium oxide (Si x Ge y O 1-x-y ) infrared sensitive material for uncooled microbolometers. RF magnetron sputtering was used to simultaneously deposit Si and Ge thin films in an Ar/O 2 environment at room temperature. The effects of varying Si and O composition on the thin film's electrical properties which include temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and resistivity were investigated. The highest achieved TCR and the corresponding resistivity at room temperature were -5.41 %/K and 3.16×10 3 ohm cm using Si 0.039 Ge 0.875 O 0.086 for films deposited at room temperature.

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