Evaluation of 1/f Noise Characteristics for Si-Based Infrared Detection Materials

Silicon antimony films are studied as resistors for uncooled microbolometers. We present the fabrication of silicon films and their alloy films using sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The sputtered silicon antimony films show a low 1/f noise level compared to plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)-deposited amorphous silicon due to their very fine nanostructure. Material parameter K is controlled using the sputtering conditions to obtain a low 1/f noise. The calculation for specific detectivity assuming similar properties of silicon antimony and PECVD amorphous silicon shows that silicon antimony film demonstrates an outstanding value compared with PECVD Si film.