Thin-film superconductive edge-transition bolometers are modeled with a one-dimensional analytic thermal model with joule heating, film and substrate materials, and the physical interface effects taken into consideration. The results from the model agree well with the experimental results of samples made of large-meander-line Yba(2)Cu(3)O(7-x) films on crystalline SrTiO3, LaAlO3, and MgO substrates up to 100 kHz, the limits of the experimental setup. Compared with the results of the SrTiO3 substrate samples, the results from the model of the LaAlO3 and the MgO substrate samples deviate slightly from the measured values at very low modulation frequencies (below similar to 10 Hz). The deviation increases for higher thermal-conductive substrate materials. When the model was used, the substrate absorption and the thermal parameters of the devices could also be investigated. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America