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Optical resonators

Microphotonic thermal imaging

Nature Photonics volume 1, pages 632–634 (2007)Cite this article

High-performance thermal imaging technology typically involves using cryogenically cooled devices. In the future, detectors based on arrays of tiny optical resonators could lead to sensitive, rapid, thermal imaging at room temperature.

The advent of high-quality-factor (high-Q) micrometre-scale optical resonators has led to the demonstration of high-fidelity optical sensors. These devices can be used for various types of sensing — mechanical, biological and chemical, for example — and often have far better sensitivity than conventional techniques. Microphotonic resonators could also be useful as uncooled thermal detectors, offering significantly better noise performance, smaller pixel size and faster response times than existing thermal detectors. These advantages make the prospect of a microphotonic thermal imager highly attractive.

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Figure 1: Heat detection using optical resonators.
Figure 2: Prototype microphotonic thermal detectors.
Figure 3: Concept for a TM-FPA.

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Acknowledgements

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

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  1. Sandia National Laboratories, PO Box 5800, Albuquerque, 87185, New Mexico, USA

    Michael R. Watts, Michael J. Shaw & Gregory N. Nielson

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  1. Michael R. Watts
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  2. Michael J. Shaw
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  3. Gregory N. Nielson
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Watts, M., Shaw, M. & Nielson, G. Microphotonic thermal imaging. Nature Photon 1, 632–634 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.219

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