Assembly and evaluation of a pyroelectric detector bonded to vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes over thin silicon

Published

November 20, 2013

Author(s)

John H. Lehman, Evangelos Theocharous, Savva Theocharous

Abstract

A novel pyroelectric detector consisting of a vertically aligned nanotube array on thin silicon (VANTA/Si) bonded to a 60 μm thick crystal of LiTaO₃ has been fabricated. The performance of the VANTA/Si-coated pyroelectric detector was evaluated using National Physical Laboratory's (NPL's) detector-characterization facilities. The relative spectral responsivity of the detector was found to be spectrally flat in the 0.8-24 υm wavelength range, in agreement with directional-hemispherical reflectance measurements of witness samples of the VANTA. The spatial uniformity of response of the test detector exhibited good uniformity, although the nonuniformity increased with increasing modulation frequency. The nonuniformity may be assigned either to the dimensions of the VANTA or the continuity of the bond between the VANTA/Si coating and the pyroelectric crystal substrate. The test detector exhibited a small superlinear response, which is similar to that of pyroelectric detectors coated with good quality gold-black coatings.

Citation

Applied Optics

Volume

52

Issue

33

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.52.008054

Keywords

carbon nanotube, infrared detector, spectral responsivity

Citation

Lehman, J. , Theocharous, E. and Theocharous, S. (2013), Assembly and evaluation of a pyroelectric detector bonded to vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes over thin silicon, Applied Optics, [online], https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.52.008054 (Accessed October 14, 2025)