Fabrication of the SCUBA-2 detector arrays

Abstract

We describe the techniques used to fabricate SCUBA-2, the first large-format, filled array of bolometers for sub-millimeter astronomy. With two monolithic arrays of ∼10,000 bolometers, SCUBA-2 is made possible by a unique combination of advanced technologies. The detectors are made from thermally bonded and thinned silicon wafers whose surface is ion-implanted to match the impedance of free space. SCUBA-2s pixels are suspended on a 500nm silicon nitride membrane with low tensile stress. Deep-etch micromachining to 100μm by the Bosch process isolates each pixel thermally. Proximity effect transition edge sensors formed from Mo/Cu bilayers (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A, these proceedings) are the temperature sensing elements for the bolometers. To read out such a large number of pixels, SCUBA-2 uses a superconducting quantum interference device readout for time domain multiplexing (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A, these proceedings). The detector wafer is flip-chip bonded to the multiplexer wafer by indium bumps which provide electrical and thermal connections. The technologies that make SCUBA-2 possible have applications for large-format arrays from the submillimeter through the X-ray spectral regions.