ABSTRACT
This entry is written for those who desire an analysis of a basic insight into the fundamental processes in thermal detectors and their latest developments that are important to evolving detection techniques. The special efforts are directed on the physical limits of detector performance. The reader should gain a good understanding of the similarities and contrast, the strengths, and weaknesses of a multitude of approaches that have been developed over a century of effort to improve our ability to sense infrared radiation. In addition, apart from the traditional treatment, new approaches concerning terahertz (THz) detectors are also included. THz technologies have now received increasing attention, and devices exploiting this wavelength band are set to become increasingly important in a diverse range of human activity applications (e.g., security, biological, drugs and explosion detection, gas fingerprints, imaging, etc.). The level of the entry presentation is suitable for graduate students in physics and engineering, who have received the ordinary preparation in modern solid-state physics and electronic circuits. This entry is of interest also to individuals working with aerospace sensors and systems, remote sensing, thermal imaging, military imaging, optical telecommunications, infrared spectroscopy, and lidar.
