Patent ID: 8017911
Filing Date: 2011-09-13
Classification: C01G,C01P,C23C,G01J,H01L

Abstract:
1. A method of bolometric detection of infrared radiation, comprising: converting a change in temperature from heat produced by the infrared radiation into a change in resistivity of a thin layer of a sensitive material by bolometric detection, and detecting the infrared radiation by using the sensitive material, the sensitive material having a spinel ferrite structure of chemical composition, ignoring doping agents if any are present, satisfying empirical formula I: in which iron is the majority metallic element; M represents a metal or a combination of two or more transition metals other than iron; A represents at least one metal selected from magnesium and aluminum; the metals and the oxygen being in the form of ions; x represents the number of metal ions M, whether identical or different metals; y represents the number of metal ions A; x may be 0; y is in the range 0 to 0.5; and δ represents 0 or a positive number that is sufficiently small for the substance of formula I to contain at least one metal present in the form of ions having two different oxidation states and situated on a same sublattice of the spinel ferrite structure, wherein the thickness of the thin layer of the sensitive material is in the range of 5 nm to 500 nm.