Deb, Krishna K.; Gutierrez, Anthony G.;

Guanine Cytosine (GC)-rich DNA/PNA microbolometer

This invention is related to the field of uncooled infrared (IR) detector technology, and it particularly demonstrates the use of thin film structures on oxidized silicon consisting of Guanine Cytosine (GC)--rich double-stranded DNAs and peptide nucleic acid (PNAs) helices and the current CMOS electronic circuits for optimizing the IR detector performance of uncooled microbolometer technology. PNAs are a new class of DNA mimics in which the regular nucleotide bases of adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine are connected via a peptide-like backbone (Ref. 1). PNA molecules retain the same Watson-Crick base pairing as regular oligonucleotides, with the added benefits of resistance to enzyme digestion. It is anticipated that DNA /or PNA molecules rich in GC base pairs would exhibit relaively high temperature coefficient of resistance near their melting temperature as compared with the Watson-Crick B-form of DNAs because of the three hydrogen bonds associated with the GC base pairs in the double-stranded helical structure, allowing excellent IR imaging capability in night vision devices. The predicted performance of such DNA microbolometer on oxidized silicon will certainly exceed the short range limit of the present VOx microbolometer technology currently employed in military service and it will even compete with the expensive cooled staring systems in most applications.

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What is claimed is:

1. A hybridized biological microbolometer for thermal infrared detection comprising a heat sensitive guanine cytosine-rich double stranded DNA layer with electrical contacts, on a silicon dioxide substrate insulator, said substrate on a silicon base.

2. A microbolometer as in claim 1, wherein said heat sensitive DNA layer comprises a PNA compound.

3. A microbolometer as in claim 1, wherein said layer comprises associated electronic circuits.

4. A microbolometer as in claim 3, wherein said associated electronic circuits comprise an array means for readout of infrared radiation scenes.