Microbolometer terahertz focal plane array and camera with improved sensitivity at 0.5–0.6 THz

Sensitivity of microbolometer Terahertz (THz) focal plane array (FPA) is improved by one order of magnitude at 0.5-0.6 THz, comparing with the previous THz-FPA. This is achieved by modifying an optical cavity structure in a pixel, such that the optical cavity length is extended by a factor of 4-5 than that of the previous structure. Minimum detectable powers (MDPs) per pixel are measured at 4.3, 2.5, 0.6 and 0.5 THz for the THz-FPAs (640×480, 320×240) with the modified structure and those (320×240) with the previous structure.