Thermal imaging system based on a high-temperature superconductor

Abstract

A laboratory prototype of an infrared imaging system is described. Its operating principle is based on the formation of an area on the surface of a patterned high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) film, which is sensitive to external radiation and its displacement by local heating. The basic parameters of the activated pixel zone were measured: dimensions A ≈ (95 × 95) μm2, detectivity D* = 1.3 × 108 cm Hz1/2/W, and the time constant τ = 6 ms. The considered pixel-by-pixel data readout procedure and the bolometric nature of the detector sensitivity open the possibility of utilizing the imaging system over a broad spectral range.