Optimizing Responsivity: Thermal Impedance
limiting mechanisms: heat flow from small bodies
- radiation: negligible
- conduction: dominant for micron size objects
- convection: can be significant for > tens of microns
role of material properties
- thermal conductivities: leads, bolometer, substratemetal : semiconductor : insulator3 : 1 : 0.1 - 0.01
- heat capacities2 : 1.6 : 2 - 1