Silver/zinc oxide self-assembled nanostructured bolometer

Temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) is the main figure of merit for bolometric detectors. Reports show that zinc oxide can have TCR values higher than vanadium oxide (VOx) and amorphous silicon (a-Si), which are the most common materials used in bolometric applications, however its high resistivity makes it difficult to match it to read-out electronics. In this work, self-assembled nanostructures of Silver/Zinc oxide (Ag/ZnO) have been fabricated as well as their electrical and optical properties were measured as function of the Ag/ZnO concentration ratio. It was found that the nanostructures with the highest ZnO concentration exhibited a temperature coefficient of resistance as high as −11.8% K−1 near room temperature. Moreover, the TCR values and conductivity of the material can be tuned with the Ag/ZnO concentration ratio. This tuning flexibility allows this material to be better matched to read-out integrated circuits.