Abstract: A microbolometer may include a sensitive material based on vanadium oxide (VOx) with an additional chemical element such as boron (B), but excluding nitrogen (N), the sensitive material wherein the sensitive material (i) is amorphous, (ii) has an electrical resistivity at ambient temperature in a range of from 1 to 30 ?·cm, (ii) has a homogeneous chemical composition, and (iv) has an amount of boron, defined as a ratio of a number of boron to vanadium atoms to that of vanadium, at least equal to 0.086.

Abstract: A process for producing a microbolometer including a vanadium-oxide-based sensitive material containing an additional chemical element chosen from arsenic, germanium, silicon and phosphorus, the process including: determining an effective amount of the additional chemical element from which the modified compound, having undergone a step of exposure to a temperature Tr for a time ?tr, exhibits an electrical resistivity ?a|r at room temperature that is higher than 10% of its native value; producing the sensitive material in a thin layer, this material being formed from the modified compound having an amount of the additional chemical element that is greater than or equal to the effective amount; and exposing the sensitive material to the temperature Tr for the time ?tr.

Abstract: An infrared radiation detector includes an array of elementary imaging bolometric detectors, each of the elementary bolometric detectors being formed of a bolometric membrane including a film made of vanadium oxide VOx, having a resistivity in the range from 6 ohm·cm to 50 ohm·cm, said membrane being suspended above a substrate integrating a signal for reading out the signal generated by said elementary detectors and for sequentially addressing the elementary detectors.

Abstract: A process for fabricating a microbolometer includes producing a membrane containing a thermistor material, which is made of a first compound based on vanadium oxide and which is formed from a central segment. The central segment covers an intermediate insulating layer, and the thermistor material is formed from lateral segments, which make contact with biasing electrodes through apertures. The process also includes incorporating locally, by ion implantation, into the lateral segments an amount of an additional chemical element higher than or equal to the effective amount. The electrical resistivity ?L at room temperature of the compound thus modified is lower than or equal to 10% of the electrical resistivity ?c at room temperature of the first compound.

Abstract: A microbolometer may include a sensitive material based on vanadium oxide (VOx) with an additional chemical element such as boron (B), but excluding nitrogen (N), the sensitive material wherein the sensitive material (i) is amorphous, (ii) has an electrical resistivity at ambient temperature in a range of from 1 to 30 ?·cm, (ii) has a homogeneous chemical composition, and (iv) has an amount of boron, defined as a ratio of a number of boron to vanadium atoms to that of vanadium, at least equal to 0.086.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a microbolometer (10) comprising a sensitive material (15) based on vanadium oxide (VOx) comprising an additional chemical element chosen from among boron (B), carbon (C), with the exception of nitrogen (N), comprising the following steps: i. determining a non-zero effective amount of the additional chemical element (B, C) starting from which the sensitive material (15), having undergone exposure to a temperature Tr for a duration ?tr, has an electrical resistivity ?a|r at ambient temperature greater than or equal to 50% of the native value ?a of said sensitive material (15); ii. producing the sensitive material (15) in a thin layer having an amount of the additional chemical element (B, C) greater than or equal to the effective amount determined beforehand, the sensitive material being amorphous and having an electrical resistivity of between 1 and 30 ?·cm; iii.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing at least one microbolometer comprising a sensitive material based on vanadium oxide containing nitrogen as additional chemical element, includes steps of determining a non-zero effective amount of the additional chemical element starting from which the sensitive material, having undergone a step of exposure to a temperature Tr for a duration ?tr, has an electrical resistivity ?a|r at ambient temperature greater than or equal to 50% of the native value ?a of said sensitive material at ambient temperature; producing the sensitive material in a thin layer having an amount of the additional chemical element greater than or equal to the effective amount determined beforehand, the sensitive material being amorphous and having an electrical resistivity of between 1 and 30 ?·cm; and exposing the sensitive material to a temperature Tr for a duration ?tr.

Abstract: A radiation sensor including a plurality of pixels formed in and on a semiconductor substrate, each pixel including a microboard suspended above the substrate by thermal insulation arms, the microboard including: a conversion element for converting incident electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy; and a passive optical shutter including a heat-sensitive layer covering one of the faces of the conversion element, the heat-sensitive layer having a reflection coefficient for the radiation to be detected that increases as a function of its temperature.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a microbolometer (10) comprising a sensitive material (15) based on vanadium oxide (VOx) comprising an additional chemical element chosen from among boron (B), carbon (C), with the exception of nitrogen (N), comprising the following steps: i. determining a non-zero effective amount of the additional chemical element (B, C) starting from which the sensitive material (15), having undergone exposure to a temperature Tr for a duration ?tr, has an electrical resistivity ?a|r at ambient temperature greater than or equal to 50% of the native value ?a of said sensitive material (15); ii. producing the sensitive material (15) in a thin layer having an amount of the additional chemical element (B, C) greater than or equal to the effective amount determined beforehand, the sensitive material being amorphous and having an electrical resistivity of between 1 and 30 ?.cm; iii.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing at least one microbolometer comprising a sensitive material based on vanadium oxide containing nitrogen as additional chemical element, includes steps of determining a non-zero effective amount of the additional chemical element starting from which the sensitive material, having undergone a step of exposure to a temperature Tr for a duration ?tr, has an electrical resistivity ?a|r at ambient temperature greater than or equal to 50% of the native value ?a of said sensitive material at ambient temperature; producing the sensitive material in a thin layer having an amount of the additional chemical element greater than or equal to the effective amount determined beforehand, the sensitive material being amorphous and having an electrical resistivity of between 1 and 30 ?·cm; and exposing the sensitive material to a temperature Tr for a duration ?tr.

Abstract: A radiation sensor including a plurality of pixels formed in and on a semiconductor substrate, each pixel including a microboard suspended above the substrate by thermal insulation arms, the microboard including: a conversion element for converting incident electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy; and a passive optical shutter including a heat-sensitive layer covering one of the faces of the conversion element, the heat-sensitive layer having a reflection coefficient for the radiation to be detected that increases as a function of its temperature.

Abstract: An infrared radiation detector includes an array of elementary imaging bolometric detectors, each of the elementary bolometric detectors being formed of a bolometric membrane including a film made of vanadium oxide VOx, having a resistivity in the range from 6 ohm·cm to 50 ohm·cm, said membrane being suspended above a substrate integrating a signal for reading out the signal generated by said elementary detectors and for sequentially addressing the elementary detectors.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use, as a thin sensitive-material film for bolometric detection, of at least one material based on an alloy comprising at least one chalcogenide, said chalcogen element being chosen from sulfur, selenium, telluride and their mixtures, characterized in that said material furthermore contains a sufficient amount of carbon and/or boron to confer upon the material a temperature coefficient of resistivity value at 300° C. at least equal to 40% of the native value of the temperature coefficient of resistivity of said material at room temperature. The invention also relates to a bolometric device and its production process.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use, as a thin sensitive-material film for bolometric detection, of at least one material based on an alloy comprising at least one chalcogenide, said chalcogen element being chosen from sulfur, selenium, telluride and their mixtures, characterized in that said material furthermore contains a sufficient amount of carbon and/or boron to confer upon the material a temperature coefficient of resistivity value at 300° C. at least equal to 40% of the native value of the temperature coefficient of resistivity of said material at room temperature. The invention also relates to a bolometric device and its production process.

Abstract: An optical system with an optical beam propagation extension, having an input and an output for the optical beam. The system includes at least two optical reflection elements for reflection of the beam, arranged to extend the propagation of the beam by reflection on the reflection elements, and at least one optical beam transmission element arranged to be traversed at least twice by the optical beam in different directions during propagation of the optical beam in the optical system. The optical transmission element ensures an optical transformation of the optical beam each time the optical beam passes through so as to correct the divergence thereof.

Abstract: The invention relates to an optical pumping device (12). This device (12) comprises at least one thin layer (13) having a given volume, produced on an active material base doped with laser ions. The device (12) also comprises at least one pump beam (19) having a cross section of given dimensions, of a wavelength selected to be able to place the laser ions of the active material in an excited state. This pump beam (19) enters at an entry point (47) in the layer (13) with an angle of incidence (?p), forming at least one optical gain zone (20) in the layer (13). The zone (20) has a volume less than the volume of the layer (13) and a positioning in the layer (13) that are adjustable by means of the entry point (47), the dimensions of the cross section of the pump beam (19) and the angle of incidence (?p).

Abstract: An optical system with an optical beam propagation extension, having an input and an output for the optical beam. The system includes at least two optical reflection elements for reflection of the beam, arranged to extend the propagation of the beam by reflection on the reflection elements, and at least one optical beam transmission element arranged to be traversed at least twice by the optical beam in different directions during propagation of the optical beam in the optical system. The optical transmission element ensures an optical transformation of the optical beam each tim the optical beam passes through so as to correct the divergence thereof.

Abstract: A laser cavity with passive switching by a saturable absorber and a laser incorporating the cavity. The laser cavity has a solid, active material saturable absorber, an entrance mirror and an exit mirror. The saturable absorber is a thin film of saturable absorber material directly deposited on the solid, active medium. The laser incorporates such cavity and a mechanism for pumping the cavity.

Abstract: Optically pumped laser minicavity, its production process and laser using said cavity, wherein the minicavity comprises an electrically insulating, parallelepipedic, solid emitter (1b), having two polished parallel lateral faces (6, 8), a monocrystalline substrate (2) and several monocrystalline layers epitaxied on the substrate and having in directions parallel to said faces a hardness equal to that of the substrate, one of the layers constituting a guide layer (4) able to guide the light emitted by the emitter and the pumping light and another layer (12) constituting a non-guiding protective layer, the protective layer and the substrate constituting two opposite faces of the emitter perpendicular to the lateral faces, laser activating ions being contained within the substrate and/or in one of the layers. In the case of an internal cavity, semi-reflecting mirrors (9, 10) are placed on the lateral faces of the emitter.