Abstract

The theory of the low-temperature ac capacitance bolometer is developed, and it is shown that both the responsivity and detectivity are maximized by the bias current if ∂∊/∂T and ∂ tanδ/∂T are positive. Certain SrTiO₃ glass-ceramics meet these conditions at helium temperatures, and the optimum bolometric characteristics are estimated using literature data for the dielectric and thermal properties. Assuming a 16-Hz chopping frequency and 10-ms time constant (which is shown to be consistent with the thermal data), the results are that the responsivity (times the square root of the detector area) varies from 3×10⁶ to 2×10⁵ V W⁻¹ cm from 0.3 to 10 K. The corresponding variation of the detectivity is from 7×10¹² to $6\times {10}^{10}\hspace{0.17em}\text{cm}\hspace{0.17em}{\text{W}}^{-1}{\text{Hz}}^{-\frac{1}{2}}$. Comparisons with other low-temperature thermal detectors are given.

© 1972 Optical Society of America

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