Conductus Inc., Standards Agency Join to Design Superconducting Bolometer

Conductus Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed an ultrasensitive high-temperature superconducting bolometer for infrared imaging applications. The device, designed under a cooperative research and development agreement, has demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.6 pW/(check)Hz, compared with the 1.5 pW/(check)Hz sensitivity of current, more expensive helium-cooled superconducting bolometers. The new bolometer uses all-epitaxial micromachining technology based on a yttrium-barium-copper oxide thin film on a free-standing, yttria-stabilized zirconia membrane, and can be used in infrared video cameras for atmosphere monitoring, night-vision equipment and clear-air turbulence detectors.