Fast pyroelectric response of semiconducting YBaCuO detectors with high IR sensitivity; development of THz imaging arrays

YBa<;sub>2<;/sub>Cu<;sub>3<;/sub>O<;sub>6+x<;/sub> oxides are semiconducting for x <; 0.5 and are amorphous (a-YBCO) at low deposition temperature (100 °C, typically). a-YBCO also exhibits pyroelectric properties. Metal/a-YBCO planar micro-structures were processed to fabricate IR sensors. When unbiased, the device exhibited a pyroelectric near-infrared response as f <;sup>+1<;/sup> up to about 35 kHz, followed by a slow thermally diffusive decrease as f <;sup>-1/2<;/sup> up to about 3 MHz. NEP was measured below 15 pW/Hz<;sup>½<;/sup>, with detectivity D<;sup>*<;/sup> above 10<;sup>9<;/sup> cm·Hz<;sup>1/2<;/sup>·W<;sup>-1<;/sup> in the 500 Hz to 100 kHz range. 32×32 arrays of THz log-periodic planar antennas to be coupled with a-YBCO patches were also designed.