A quantum dot infrared photodetector (QDIP) consisting of self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots has been demonstrated. Responsivity of 3.25 mA/W at 9.2 μm was obtained for nonpolarized incident light on the detector with a 45° angle facet at 60 K. The QDIPs exhibit some unique electro-optic characteristics such as a strong negative differential photoconductance effect and blueshift of the response peak wavelength.

By emulating the hearing organ of the Ormia ochracea fly, a microelectromechanical sound sensor was fabricated which is able to determine the direction of incident sound despite an overall size much smaller than the wavelength of interest. The sensor consists of two wings that are coupled in the middle and attached to the surrounding substrate by two legs. The design incorporated interdigitated comb fingers on the wings and the substrate which enables electrostatic (capacitive) readout. Measured electrical response showed a strong dependence on the direction of incident sound.

Abstract:In this paper we report on the design, fabrication and characterization of terahertz (THz) bi-material sensors with metamaterial absorbers. MEMS fabrication-friendly SiO x and Al are used to maximize the bimetallic effect and metamaterial absorption at 3.8 THz, the frequency of a quantum cascade laser illumination source. Sensors with different configurations were fabricated and the measured absorption is near 100% and responsivity is around 1.2 deg/μW, which agree well with finite element simulations. The results indicate the potential of using these detectors to fabricate focal plane arrays for real time THz imaging.

Metamaterial absorbers with nearly 100% absorption in the terahertz (THz) spectral band have been designed and fabricated using a periodic array of aluminum (Al) squares and an Al ground plane separated by a thin silicon dioxide (SiO2) dielectric film. The entire structure is less than 1.6 mm thick making it suitable for the fabrication of microbolometers or bi-material sensors for THz imaging. Films with different dielectric layer thicknesses exhibited resonant absorption at 4.1, 4.2, and 4.5 THz with strengths of 98%, 95%, and 88%, respectively. The measured absorption spectra are in good agreement with simulations using finite element modeling.

A narrowband MEMS direction finding sensor has been developed based on the mechanically coupled ears of the Ormia Ochracea fly. The sensor consists of two wings coupled at the middle and attached to a substrate using two legs. The sensor operates at its bending resonance frequency and has cosine directional characteristics similar to that of a pressure gradient microphone. Thus, the directional response of the sensor is symmetric about the normal axis making the determination of the direction ambiguous. To overcome this shortcoming two sensors were assembled with a canted angle similar to that employed in radar bearing locators. The outputs of two sensors were processed together allowing direction finding with no requirement of knowing the incident sound pressure level. At the bending resonant frequency of the sensors (1.69 kHz) an output voltage of about 25 V/Pa was measured. The angle uncertainty of the bearing of sound ranged from less than 0.3° close to the normal axis (0°) to 3.4° at the limits of coverage (±60°) based on the 30° canted angle used. These findings indicate the great potential to use dual MEMS direction finding sensor assemblies to locate sound sources with high accuracy.