INTRODUCTION TO TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

1. TEMPERATURE AND TEMPERATURE SCALES 1.1 Historical background 1.2 Thermodynamic temperature scale 1.3 International temperature scales 2. CLASSIFICATION OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS 2.1 The Need and General Principles for a Scheme of Thermometer Classification 2.2 The Non-Contacting Sub-Species of Temperature Sensor 2.3 The Contacting Group of Temperature Sensors 2.4 Temperature Measuring Ranges of Temperature Sensors 3. NON-ELECTRICAL CONTACTING THERMOMETERS 3.1 The Liquid-in-Glass Thermometer 3.2 Other Sub-Species of Contacting Non-Electrical Thermometers 4. METALLIC RESISTANCE THERMOMETRY 4.1 General and Historical Background 4.2 The Callendar-van Dusen Relations for Metallic Thermoresistors 4.3 Errors in metallic resistance thermometry 4.4 Structure of metallic thermoresistor transducer assemblies 4.5 Thin film metallic thermoresitors 5. SEMICONDUCTOR RESISTANCE THERMOMETERY 5.1. General And Historical Background 5.2. Thermistor Thermometers 5.3. Manufacture And Structure Of Thermistors 5.4. Silicon Resistance Thermometer Detectors Or Si-RTDs, Also Called Silistors 5.4.1. Structure of Silistors 6. RESISTANCE THERMOMETER PROBLEMS AND CIRCUITS 6.1. Special Factors In Using Resistance Temperature Sensors 6.2. Measuring And Conditioning Circuits For Thermoresistors 7. DIODES AND TRANSISTORS IN TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT 8. THERMOELECTRIC THERMOMETERS 9. DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF AN IDEALISED TEMPERATURE SENSOR 9.1 Thermokinetics and Lumped model 9.2 Transfer function and frequency response 9.3 Equivalent block diagram of a linearized sensor 9.4 Responses to aperiodic test signals - dynamic errors 9.5 Response to periodic sinusoidal signals 9.6 Real Temperature Sensors 9.6.1 Classification of Real Sensors by Step Response 9.6.2 Transfer functions of real temperature sensors

TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT 1.
1.1.

TEMPERATURE AND TEMPERATURE SCALES

Historical Background

The concept of temperature is closely related to the physiological experience of hotness or coldness when some object is touched or approached. Indeed hotness and coldness were regarded as two separate properties of matter in ancient Greece. Fuzzy qualitative descriptions, which are used when objects are described as relatively cold, cool or tepid, or perhaps as hot, warm or boiling, are intuitive ways of expressing notions related to personal comfort. As soon as thermometers were invented an immediate need arose for refinement of the concepts of temperature and hotness. Heat is transferred from hot to other cooler bodies in such a way that both bodies tend to equalise their temperatures, approaching a new common intermediate temperature. This notion is contained in the definition given to temperature by the Scotsman James Clerk Maxwell. He stated that the temperature of a body is its thermal state, regarded as a measure of its ability to transfer heat to other bodies. This assumption, that heat flows from warmer to cooler bodies, forms the basis of the International Temperature Scale of 1990, commonly referred to as ITS-90. The agreement to adopt this Temperature Scale by the 18th CGPM is the latest step in the long, difficult and tortuous route, which error prone science has taken towards a contemporary definition of temperature. Temperature was also important in ancient Rome. During the second century BC, the Greek physician C. Galen associated four degrees of coldness regarding the effects of different medicines upon human physiology during his medical treatments.. The purpose of the medicines was to warm his chilled patients or to cool his feverish patients. Building upon Galen's basic assumption, later scientists tried to credit the effects of these medicines to different bodies by giving them different degrees of warmth or coldness. The first device, which was used to measure the degree of warmth or coldness, seems to have been invented by Galileo Galilei some time between the years 1592 AD and 1603 AD. This instrument, which is shown in Figure 1(a), consisted of an air filled glass bulb connected to a long tube immersed in a coloured liquid. The liquid column rose or fell as a function of the ambient temperature, which influenced the entrapped air, thus indicating the degree of warmth or coldness. In the absence of any evidence that the instrument had graduations, it is better to call it an air thermoscope. Attempts to measure the length of the column were probably made using dividers or compasses. As the indicated values were also a function of the atmospheric pressure its precision must have been quite poor. The concept of atmosphere was unknown at that time. Subsequently, these atmospheric dependencies were removed by applying suitable corrections. It is apparent from these observations, that although the response of a thermometer to variables other than temperature causes errors in the measurement, these errors may be compensated for using appropriate corrections. About the year 1650 AD, members of the Florentine Academy of Sciences made the first thermometer which is represented in Figure 1(b). This consisted of a spiral shaped tube with a closed end. Although a graduation was a part of the device, numbers were not associated with it. In due course, confidence in the stability and repeatability of physical states led to their association with defined temperature fixed points. It was realised that intercomparison of existing thermometers could only be performed by tests conducted in systems which duplicated these states. One of the first proposals, from H. Fabri from Leida in 1669, was for two fixed points. The lower should be the temperature of snow and the higher the

temperature of the hottest summer day. A later proposal, which was made by C. Rinaldi from Padua in 1693, suggested that the fixed points should be the temperatures of the melting point of ice and the boiling point of water. Between these two points twelve divisions should be introduced. In the same year, and for the first time, the British scientist E. Halley applied mercury as a thermometric liquid.

Further development of the mercury-in-glass thermometer, in 1742, was due to the Swedish astronomer and physicist A. Celsius. He assigned 100 to the temperature of melting ice and 0 to the temperature of boiling water. The region between these two points was divided into 100 equal steps. Subsequently, after the death of Celsius in 1744, M. Strmer, his friend and scientific collaborator, reversed these values. Eventually, as science developed, a need to measure temperatures above the melting point of glass arose. Prinseps air thermometer, which used a gold-bulb to measure temperatures of 1000 oC in 1828, was followed soon after, in 1836, by a platinum bulb in a similar thermometer by Pouillet. A true Thermodynamic Temperature Scale, described below, had been the unconscious aim of all the previous efforts. Such a scale was not possible until 1854 when its foundations were laid by the Belfast born William Thompson, who became Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and later assumed the title Lord Kelvin of Largs. 1.2. Thermodynamic Temperature Scale The aim of any scale of temperature, but especially the thermodynamic scale, is the representation of hotness and hotness relations between objects and events in the real physical world by real numbers. As numerical values are correlated to some defined temperatures, temperature fixed points are required to attribute certain temperature values. Interpolation then allows the definition of temperature between these temperature fixed points. A thermometric working substance, one of its properties and a correlating function must be assumed. The chosen function provides the means of attributing the chosen property of the working substance with a certain temperature. Because of the diversity of materials and their properties, there is an unlimited number of these temperature scales. The material, which most closely approximates this ideal thermometric working substance, is an ideal gas. Indeed it was the work of Robert Boyle and his co-workers in the middle of the 17th century which led to the conviction of many later scientists that there was such a thing as an absolute zero of temperature. These eminent individuals included G. Amontons, in Paris in 1699, J. H. Lambert, in 1770, and Gay-Lussac, in 1790. Gay-Lussac gave credit to J. A. C. Charles for that individuals previously unpublished researches. All of their efforts resulted in what is now called the ideal gas law which is written in the usual form PV = nkT (1) where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of moles of gas, k is Boltzmanns constant (=1.3807*10-23 J/K) and T is the absolute temperature. When the temperature is held constant Equation (1) corresponds to Boyles Law. Similarly Charles Law is obtained from Equation (1) when the pressure is held constant. Since there are no direct methods for measuring temperature, as there are with say length measurement, some difficulties are associated with temperature measurement. As only indirect temperature measurements are possible, any temperature scale depends upon the chosen thermometric working substance and its chosen property. Although any working substance may be applied in principle, its use will be restricted to some finite range determined by its thermal behaviour. For example, the application of mercury-in-glass thermometers is limited on the low temperature side by the solidification of the mercury as it freezes and on the high temperature side by the inability of the glass to expand indefinitely as well as its melting temperature. Melting of the glass was responsible for the Prinsep and Pouillet thermometers. An ideal solution to the problem of proposing a suitable temperature scale would be to find one valid in any temperature range and totally independent of the working substance.

Figure 1 Early types of thermometer (a) Galileos air thermoscope and (b) Thermometer of Florentine Academy of Sciences

Rmer, a thermometrist working in Copenhagen at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, developed a scale where zero degrees was associated with the coldest day, while the normal temperature of the human body was associated with 24 degrees. This made the temperature of boiling water equivalent to 50-55 degrees on this unusual scale, which was influenced by the predominant use of thermometers for meteorological purposes at that time. Hence if the freezing point of water had been taken as zero the repeated use of negative values for winter temperatures would have occurred. Winter temperatures of -16 oC ( 0 oF) are quite common on continental Europe. To avoid this it seemed obvious to use the lowest attainable temperature of those days as zero Shortly after Rmer proposed his scale his laboratory was visited by D. G. Fahrenheit from Danzig (now the city of Gdask in Poland). Fahrenheits description of the mercury-in-glass thermometer in 1724 was a notable milestone in the development of thermometry. Fahrenheit, evidently influenced by Rmers scale, proposed his own, very well known scale which associates 32o with the freezing point of water and 212o with its boiling point. Why did he choose divisions giving this scale? Although the reasons are unclear, the upper fixed point, the temperature of boiling water ( 212 oF) was probably rejected as being unnecessarily high for meteorological purposes. Instead he merely changed Rmers 24 degrees for blood temperature to 96. This change, which was equivalent to four subdivisions on each degree of the Rmer scale, was also probably made because 96 is divisible not only by 2 but also by multiples of 3 and hence 12. The decimal system was not in general use at that time. The Fahrenheit scale, which persists today, is essentially the same as that described by him to The Royal Society in 1724.

The Kelvin Thermodynamic Temperature Scale, based upon the efficiency of the ideal reversible Carnot cycle, is such a scale. A reversible Carnot Cycle consists of a reversible heat engine operating between two isotherms at the temperatures T2 and T1, with T2>T1, and of two adiabatic processes. A reversible heat engine absorbs the heat, Q2, from the high temperature source, at the temperature T2, and discharges the heat Q1 to the low temperature source, at the temperature T1. The difference between the absorbed heat Q2 and the discharged heat Q1, which is the external work, W, performed by the engine may be written as (2) W = Q2 -Q1 Reversing the engine action indicates that it may be driven by a second identical engine, working between the same heat sources. The effect of such an action may be the heat flow from the lower to the higher temperature source. Using the properties of reversible processes it may be proven that the ratio Q2/Q1 is a function only of the two source temperatures, so that Q2 = f ( T1 , T2 ) (3) Q1 Following Kelvins proposal it may be assumed that the functional relation in Equation (3) is Q2 T2 = (4) Q1 T1 Equation (4) is the basis of the thermodynamic temperature scale. From Equations (2)(4), the efficiency of a reversible heat engine is defined as T W Q2 Q1 T2 T1 = = = =1 1 (5) Q2 Q2 T2 T2 This efficiency and the definition of temperature, which is based upon it, may be shown to be independent of the working substance. As a result it may be used to define the thermodynamic temperature scale. T1 = T2 (1 ) (6) By means of this scale any chosen thermal state, such as the melting point of ice, may be assigned a certain value of thermodynamic temperature. The Thermodynamic Temperature Scale may thus be founded upon a defined temperature difference between two temperature fixed points or on a defined value of one temperature fixed point. In the course of the development of technology the manner of defining the thermodynamic temperature scale has changed. Until 1954, it was assumed that 100 represented the difference between the boiling point of water and the melting point of ice. Since then there has been a return to the original and older proposals of Kelvin, in 1848, Mendeleiev, in 1874, and Giauque in 1939. Thus, since 1954, the thermodynamic temperature scale is based upon the temperature fixed point, which is the triple point of water. Triple points of physical materials are stable, repeatable temperatures where the solid, liquid and gaseous forms of the material exist in thermal equilibrium. The triple point of water occurs at that temperature where ice, water and water vapour exist in thermal equilibrium. A temperature of 273.16 has been assigned to this temperature fixed point. In 1967, the 13th Confrence Gnral des Poids at Mesure (CGPM) introduced a new definition for the scale and a new symbol for the unit of thermodynamic temperature. This unit is called the kelvin denoted by the symbol K. Notice that when the unit is being referred

to it is spelled with a small letter to avoid confusion with the person of Kelvin. It is defined as 1 part of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. 273.16 However, an ideal Carnot cycle is impossible to realise in practice. Nevertheless, it can be demonstrated that the thermodynamic scale may be reproduced by a gas thermometer with an ideal gas as the working substance in accordance with the ideal gas law given in Equation (1). Either pressure difference at constant volume or volume difference at constant pressure can be chosen as the measure of temperature. Here again, although the ideal gas is quite fictitious, it could be replaced by a noble gas at very low pressure. When the readings at constant volume, Tv, and the similar readings at constant pressure, TP, are extrapolated to zero they tend to the same value, Tv=TP=T, independently of the properties of the gas. Thus, the thermodynamic temperature scale may be reproduced using gas thermometers which have an application range up to about 1350 K. Another simple method of reproducing the scale at thermodynamic temperatures above 1337 K is allowed by means of thermal radiation from heated bodies. When this radiation is in thermodynamic equilibrium with the radiating body, some properties of this radiation are directly linked to the temperature of the body. The concepts of black body radiation are essential for proper utilisation of the method. These concepts, which are beyond the scope of this Chapter, use the relation known as Plancks law. 1.3. International Temperature Scales

Temperature measurement requires: A primary standard A practical measuring system A system or body whose temperature is to be measured A primary standard system for measuring temperature is the Kelvin Thermodynamic Temperature Scale referred to above. Because of the difficulties which are involved in realising this primary standard system widely accepted realisations are based upon boiling points, freezing/melting points and triple points. Boiling points correspond to characteristic temperatures where the liquid and gaseous states of a material exist in equilibrium. Freezing/melting points are temperatures where a material undergoes an equilibrium change in physical state from liquid to solid or solid to liquid respectively. Freezing/melting points are preferred to boiling points as they are less sensitive to pressure changes. Practical realisations of temperature scales have been disseminated by previously adopted resolutions of the CGPM in 1889, 1927, 1948 (revised in 1960), 1968 (supplemented in 1976) and 1990. Figure 2 summarises each of these scales for comparative purposes. The Normal Hydrogen Scale, or NHS, which was based upon the work conducted by Chappius, a staff member of BIPM, was proposed by the CIPM in 1887. Using hydrogen gas as the thermometric material, Chappius built a gas thermometer calibration facility covering the range -25 to +100 oC. This early scale, which was used to calibrate mercury-in-glass thermometers, was a true centigrade scale as its fixed points were the ice-point, at 0 oC, and the boiling point of water, at 100 oC. Although work on the International Temperature Scale of 1927, or ITS-27, commenced as early as 1913, its completion was delayed by the outbreak of World War I. It was defined with the assignment of six defining or fixed points. Development of thermometers using the noble metal Platinum, giving rise to the Platinum Resistance Thermometer, or PRT, followed the pioneering groundwork of Siemens, in 1871, and Callendar, in 1887. By the end of World War I, PRTs were acknowledgement as precision thermometers. This confidence provided the basis for their specification as one of the standard interpolating instruments of
5

ITS-27. Over the range -190 to + 660 oC, in the sub-ranges -190 to 0 oC and 0 to 660 oC, the interpolating instrument was specified as the PRT made from Platinum with defined properties exhibiting resistances at three temperatures expressed as ratios with respect to the resistance at 0 oC. From 660 to 1063 oC the scale was to be interpolated using a
Gas Thermometer (-25 to + 100 o C) -190 o C 660 o C 1063 o C Radiation Thermometer

Pt/90Pt10Rh Thermocouple Platinum Resistance Thermometer (2 Sub-Ranges) -183 C

o

630 o C

1063 o C Radiation Thermometer

Pt/90Pt10Rh Thermocouple Platinum Resistance Thermometer (2 Sub-Ranges) 13.81 K 630.74 oC 1064.3 o C Radiation Thermometer

Pt/90Pt10Rh Thermocouple Platinum Resistance Thermometer (Two structures cover 2 Sub-Ranges) 13.803 K 961.78 o C Platinum Resistance Thermometer (Three structures cover 11 Sub-Ranges) Radiation Thermometer

500

1000
o

1500

2000

Capsule type PRT (13.8033 K to + 100 C) Gas Thermometer (3.0 K to 24.5561 K) He Vapour Pressure (0.65 K to 5.0 K)
10 20 30 40 K

Figure 2 Comparative Measuring Ranges of the Standard Interpolating Instruments/Sensors of the VariousTemperature Measurement Scales

Platinum/90%Platinum-10%Rhodium (Pt/90Pt10RH) thermocouple made from materials with specified properties. The Wien Law of Radiation defined temperatures above 1063 oC. ITS-27 was a major step forward in the universality of thermometry as it removed previously observed ambiguities in the specification of temperature. The tortuous path in the development of a temperature scale, which truly represented the thermodynamic scale, soon uncovered the inadequacies of ITS-27. Thus was born the International Temperature Scale of 1948 (ITS-48), which possessed the same number of fixed points as ITS-27, but with the freezing point of silver now specified as 960.8 oC, instead of 960.5 oC as in ITS-27. The lower PRT interpolating limit was also raised to -183 o C to coincide with the oxygen boiling point of -182.970 oC. Otherwise the PRT standard

interpolation subranges remained the same, as well as that of the Pt/90Pt10Rh interpolating thermocouple. In the case of the interpolating thermocouple, a quadratic interpolating equation was introduced with new constraints placed upon the acceptable values and tolerances of the emf. Above 1063 oC the Wien Radiation Law was replaced by the Planck Law to improve the thermodynamic consistency of the temperatures in this range and also to allow the use of ITS-48 at higher temperatures than ITS-27. In 1960, a revision of ITS-48 became known as the International Practical Temperature Scale of 1948(60), or IPTS-48(60), to avoid confusion with ITS-48. The changes, which specified the water triple point temperature as 273.16 K, creating the present Kelvin Thermodynamic Scale, also included its adoption as a fixed point of the scale in the place of the ice-point temperature. The name of the unit of temperature was changed to Celsius in place of centigrade. ITS-47 was a true centigrade scale as it had 100 degrees as the fundamental interval between the ice-point and the water boiling point. As the freezing point of zinc, at 419.505 oC, was more precisely realised it was proposed as a replacement for the sulphur boiling point at 444.60 oC. New restrictions were placed upon one of the PRT ratios and upon the standard thermocouple emf. The International Practical Temperature Scale of 1968, or IPTS-68, which was based upon boiling points, melting/freezing points and triple points, arose from the need to extend IPTS-48 to lower temperatures as well as from improved measurement methods. A total of thirteen fixed points were used to define the scale. Although the interpolating instruments were the same as for IPTS-48, the PRT range was extended to cover the lower temperature region down to 13.8 K, using four wire resistance connections in two different sensor structures. The scale was also more closely defined in terms of a reference function,. with four different deviation functions defined to provide correction in the four different temperature sub-ranges for the particular PRT being calibrated. In the original statement of IPTS-68 the same thermocouple covered the same range as in IPTS-48(60) with the same quadratic form for the emf defining equation. The range, subsequently adopted by the 15th CGPM in 1975, was changed to 903 to 1337 K in IPTS-68(75) with a commensurate tightening of the emf specifications. Above 1337 K the Planck Radiation Law defined the scale. An Extended Practical Temperature scale of 1976, or EPT-76, which includes revisions to IPTS-68, allowed IPTS-68 to be extended at low temperatures with the addition of 11 fixed points in the cryogenic range from the superconducting transition point of cadmium at 0.519 K to the boiling point of neon at 27.102 K. IPTS-68 and EPT-76 have now been superseded by ITS-90, the International Temperature Scale of 1990. This scale, which has most boiling points eliminated, allows an extension of the lower range to 0.65 K. It agrees better with the thermodynamic scale and has greater continuity, precision and reproducibility with appropriate sub-ranges. As indicated in Figure 2 four classes of thermometer are used to establish the scale. The Helium vapour pressure thermometer covers the range from 0.65 K to 5 K where the saturated vapour pressure temperature relations of 3He and 4He hold. Constant volume gas thermometers, where the gas pressure is a function of temperature, are standard thermometers over the range from 3 K to the triple point of neon at 24.5561 K. Over the temperature range from the triple point of equilibrium hydrogen, at 13.8033 K to the freezing point of silver, at 961.78 oC, the standard instrument is a platinum resistance thermometer calibrated at specified sets of defining fixed points and using specified interpolating procedures. More details about the PRT interpolating equations are given in Section 4. The Planck radiation Law is used to define ITS-90 above the freezing point of silver. Overall, ITS-90 represents Thermodynamic Temperature with an accuracy of 2 mK from 1 to 273 K increasing to 7 mK at 900 K. As already stated, ITS-90 is established using a total number of 17 fixed points. These comprise 1 vapour pressure point, 6 triple points, 8 freezing/melting points and 2 boiling

points. A comparison between the fixed points of the ITS-90 with the previous temperature scales described above and illustrated in Figure 2 appears in Table 1.
Table 1 The temperature fixed points of various temperature scales FIXED POINT OF SCALE Vapour pressure point of Helium Triple point of equilibrium Hydrogen Boiling point of Hydrogen Gas thermometer point of Helium Triple point of neon Boiling point of neon Triple point of oxygen Triple point of argon Condensation point of oxygen Triple point of mercury Freezing point of water Triple point of water Melting point of gallium Boiling point of water Freezing point of indium Freezing point of tin Freezing point of zinc Boiling point of sulphur Freezing point of aluminium Freezing point of silver Freezing point of gold Freezing point of copper Normal Hydrogen Scale ITS-27 IPTS-48 IPTS-68 ITS-90 3-5 13.8033 17. 20.3 24.5561 54.3584 83.8058 234.3156 273. 273.15 273.15 (273.16) 373.15 273.16 373.15 505.1181 692.73 429.7485 505.078 692.677 933.473 1234.93 1337.33 1357.77 273.16 302.9146

13.81 17.042 20.28 27.102 54.361 83.798 90.188

90.18

90.18

373.

373.15

717.75 1233.65 1336.15

(692.655) 717.75 1233.95 1336.15

1235.08 1337.58

VIDICON PHOTOGRAPHIC PYROELECTRIC THERMOVISION

2.
2.1.

CLASSIFICATION OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS

The Need and General Principles for a Scheme of Thermometer Classification

NOISE THERMOMETRY

OTHER

CONDUCTORS SEMI-CONDUCTORS REFRACTIVE INDEX BI-METALLIC VARIATIONS TWO-TERMINAL THREE-TERMINAL DILATATION BLACK-BODY CAVITIES NO JUNCTIONS ONE-JUNCTION TWO-JUNCTION CAPILLARY MANOMETRIC FLUORESCENCE PYROMETRIC CONES RESISTORS THERMISTOR LIQUID- LIQUIDGASLIQUID CRYSTALS IN-GLASS FILLED FILLED PAINTS WIRED THIN-FILM SILISTORS DIODES TRANSISTORS VAPOUR PRESSURE

Figure 3 Classification of Temperature Measuring Instruments/Sensors by Structure and/or Energy Form

FAMILIES OF THE ORDERING LEVELS OF THE KEY GENUS

SUB-SPECIES BY STRUCTURE and/or ENERGY FORM

SPECIES

Elements for measuring temperature extend the human faculties to sense hotness relations between bodies or entities in the real world. This functional extension of the human faculties is held in common with other instruments for measurement, calculation, communication and control. From the classification perspective, the tree diagram of Figure 3 illustrates benefits which the science of taxonomy can bring to the study of temperature sensors. It is obvious from Figure 3 that there are diverse methods for temperature measurement. Although only contacting sensors with heat transfer by convection or conduction will be considered in detail in this book, Figure 3 and its implications will be explained with a brief description of each of the sensors not considered in detail later. To provide breadth of perspective, it is essential to introduce some kind of ordering so that similarities between each kind may be identified without in any way diminishing their important differences. It will be recalled that the main function of taxonomy, or classification, is to discover that relationship between different entities which unites them. In the first instance, at the metaphysical, theoretical or fictitious level, it is necessary to deal with the generality or resemblance of specific methods of temperature measurement. This is concerned with establishing the relationship of likeness. The second important problem in the classification of temperature sensors should analyse two relationships. The first is that between those similar sub-species of sensing methods. The second is the relationships between one part of a temperature sensor with other parts which together collectively contribute to the composition of the sensor. It is also necessary to construct a hierarchical ordering based upon the relationship between the heads or central members of groups of sensors. Composition and collectivity play a role in this ordering as they relate the places occupied in each order relative to other sensors of the same order. Another last, but not least, ingredient in ordering temperature sensors is concerned with the kinship of one sensor type with another type. The relationships of ascent, descent and collaterality are the essential factors in this aspect of temperature sensor ordering. Ascending and descending relationships place the sensor by structure and energy form relative to the head or central members of principal groups of sensors. Collaterality is that relationship which one type of sensor has to another at the same hierarchical level in the classification. Applying the above principles, it can be seen that temperature sensors are a specific genus of sensor within the much wider family of sensors. This is emphasised by the branch which shows that other genus of sensor exist. Also, in accordance with the general classification of sensors, temperature sensors may belong to the groups of sensor known as either self-generators or modulators. Although only contacting sensors with heat transfer by conduction or convection will be considered in detail in this book, Figure 3 and its implications will be explained with a brief description of each of the sensors not considered in detail later. The generality and resemblance level in temperature sensor ordering is best approached by comparison with the functions of the human senses. Humans can detect hotness relations by looking at an object, by approaching it or by touching it. Neither looking at nor approaching an object require physical contact to sense its hotness. Touching an object to sense its hotness requires physical contact. Thus the senses of touch, by contact, and sight or proximity, with no contact, are those used by humans to sense hotness relations. It is apparent that temperature sensors may be based upon heat transfer by contacting or noncontacting methods. This grouping at the species level of the hierarchy of temperature

NON-CONTACTING INTERROGATIVE RADIATIVE ACOUSTIC/ULTRASONIC HEAT TRANSFER THERMOMETRY THERMOMETRY

TWO COLOUR PHOTOELECTRIC DISAPPEARING FILAMENT TOTAL RADIATION

SELF-GENERATORS

OTHER

TEMPERATURE

MOLECULAR VIBRATION Spectroscopy; Fluorescence Optical Refraction Tomographic Thermometry

MODULATORS

ELECTRICAL

SENSING

SELF-GENERATORS and MODULATORS

NON-ELECTRICAL

THERMAL QUARTZ FIBRE OPTIC INDICATORS THERMOMETRY

CONTACTING

THERMOCOUPLES

THERMAL EXPANSION

SOLID

LIQUID

GAS

CHIPS

10

sensors, classifies them on the basis of these heat transfer mechanisms. This approach to temperature measurement is recognised as the direct form of measurement in the thermal field. Other possibilities for the non-contacting species use inferential methods. The principle of this technique applies an external energy as an interrogating medium in the measuring scheme for the purposes of information capture about the abilities of the body under measurement to store, dissipate, transmit or transform thermal energy. 2.2. The Non-Contacting Sub-Species of Temperature Sensor Interrogating non-contacting temperature measurement is based upon two main approaches. In the laser-based sub-species methods, laser beams act as interrogators by stimulating molecular vibration in the body under measurement. Various forms of spectroscopy, fluorescence analysis, optical refraction and tomographic thermometry are then used. Sensors of the acoustic/ultrasonic sub-species make use of the laws formulated by Newton in 1687 relating the velocity of propagation of sound to the temperature of the medium through which the sound is travelling. Irrespective of whether measurement is made on a gas, a solid or a liquid, the temperature of the medium exerts an influence on the velocity with which sound waves can be propagated in it. In the case of a gas at vanishingly small pressure, the velocity of sound, v, is related to the square root of the absolute temperature, T, in the form
v= cRT M

(7)

More complex relations exist for the other two cases. When the medium is a liquid the velocity is given by
v=

(T ) (T )
M

(8)

While if the medium is a solid the relationship is

v=

(T )

(9)

As its name implies, a total radiation pyrometer measures the temperature of a body by the radiation which the body emits over a large range of wavelengths. Total radiation pyrometers, which were first reported in 1902, are characterised by a diversity in the structure of their optical systems, detectors and associated electronics. Needless to say, microprocessor technology has exerted a significant influence in this area as well as in most other areas of temperature measurement. Photoelectric pyrometers belong to the group of band radiation photo-detectors. By contrast with total radiation pyrometers, which have a response time in the order of 1 ms to 15 ms, photoelectric pyrometers have response times around 1 or 2 s. Disappearing filament pyrometers, which were first built in 1901, are spectral pyrometers. During operation the brightness of a lamp filament is adjusted by changing the filament current until the filament disappears against the background of the target under measurement. Two colour pyrometers, also called ratio pyrometers, measure temperature by calculating the ratio of the spectral radiances emitted by an object at two different wavelengths. Their name is strictly correct only if the wavelenghts used fall within the visible range of the spectrum, even though the same name is used for those whose operating wavelengths lie outside this range. The other branch of radiative temperature measurement is more strictly called thermal imaging as the whole image of the temperature field is observed and comparatively measured. In the photographic group, image temperatures in the range up to 550 oC are captured on films which are sensitive to infrared radiation of wavelengths of about 3 m. Optoelectronic converters are based upon the principles of optoelectronic amplification and imaging electronics. Contemporary image converters are sensitive to temperature fields at wavelengths of 1.3 m, which correspond to temperatures around 400 oC. A vidicon is a modified television camera with a photoconducting layer covering the tube screen. This screen is scanned in a similar manner to the television camera. Pyroelectric systems operate in a similar way to the vidicon system but use a pyroelectric layer in place of the photoconductive layer of the vidicon system. Infrared cameras, which use optomechanical systems to scan all points of the image, eventually display the detected image on a monitor screen. For this reason they are called thermovision systems. None of the non-contacting group techniques will be considered further. 2.3. The Contacting Group of Temperature Sensors Contact sensors function through conductive and convective heat transfer. Further grouping by the energy form of the output signal, distinguishes non-electrical sensors from the electrical group. Liquid-in-glass thermometers, with a summary of other non-electrical types, are considered in Section 3. Thermometers based on (i) metallic electrical resistance, (ii) semiconducting electrical resistance, (ii) semiconductor junctions in diodes, transistors and chips, and (iii) thermoelectricity are respectively considered in Sections 4-6.7. 2.4. Temperature Measuring Ranges of Temperature Sensors It is also possible to classify temperature sensors on the basis of the temperature range of application. Such a classification is given in Figure 4. For the purposes of comparison an abbreviated form for the temperature ranges of the standard thermometers of ITS-90, adapted from Figure 2, is also included in this diagram.

where c = cp/cv is related to the specific heat at constant pressure, cp, and to that at constant volume, cv, R is the universal gas constant, M is the molecular weight, (T) and (T) are the respective temperature dependent volumetric modulus of elasticity and specific density of the liquid/solid under measurement. Both of the latter factors are not known with a great deal of precision. Hence ultrasonic thermometers have to be calibrated in gases approaching the ideal. Electronically generated oscillations with a frequency in the range from 0.1 to 3 MHz are transformed into acoustic waves using piezoelectric or magnetostrictive transducers.. Ultrasonic thermometry has been applied in nuclear reactors, in tanks and inside solid bodies at temperatures over 2000 oC. The radiative sub-species of non-contacting temperature sensors, which are commonly known as pyrometers or infrared thermometers, can be regarded as either objective or subjective from the point of view of the temperature information they give. A heat transfer process causes a thermal radiation detector to absorb heat emitted by the body or process under measurement in accordance with the Planck Radiation Law. It is usual to group the objective forms by their spectral response.

11

12

13

3.
3.2.
o 3500 C

NON-ELECTRICAL CONTACTING THERMOMETERS

The Liquid-in-Glass Thermometer

Self-Generator

Extreme Range

Radiation Thermometer

The most commonly known non-electrical thermometers are the liquid-in-glass and the bimetallic thermometers. Both of these temperature sensing techniques use the thermal expansion properties of liquids or solids. Detailed consideration will only be given to the liquid-in-glass. Other non-electrical thermometers are briefly described in Section 3.2. Liquid-in-glass thermometers as shown in Figure 5, consist of a liquid filled bulb connected to a thin capillary with a temperature scale. They are based on the temperature dependent variation of the volume of the liquid which is used. Assuming that the bulb volume, Vb, is much greater than that of the liquid contained in the capillary, the volume variation, V, of the liquid corresponding to the measured temperature variation, , is V = Vb a (10) where a is the average apparent coefficient of cubic thermal expansion of the thermometric liquid in the given glass. This coefficient, which also covers small changes of the bulb volume as a function of the measured temperature, has an average value for a given application range of the thermometer. It is expressed as the difference of the respective coefficients of cubic expansion, l , of the liquid and g, of the glass so that (11) a= l - g Assume that the inner capillary has a diameter, d, and that the volume variation, V, due to the temperature difference, , corresponds to a change of length, l, of the liquid column. Using V = d 2 4 l in Equation (10) gives the thermometer sensitivity as

o 3000 C

Photoelectric Pyrometers Disappearing Filament Thermometers Two-Colour (Ratio) Pyrometers

(Conductors:- wire/foil/film)

Total Radiation Pyrometers

Typical Range

Mercury-in-Glass Thermometers Organic Liquids-in-Glass Thermometers

1500

2000

Figure 4 Classification of Temperature Measuring Instruments/Sensors by Measuring Range

1000

Thermistor Thermometers Silicon Resistors

Vapour Pressure Thermometers

Liquid Filled Thermometers

Platinum Resistance Thermometer

Gas Thermometer He Vapour Pressure

4Vb l g l 4V = b 2a = (12) d d 2 Equation (12) indicates that the sensitivity is directly proportional to both increasing bulb volume, Vb, and the average apparent coefficient of cubic thermal expansion, a, but as the inverse square of capillary diameter, d. There are some practical limits to increasing this sensitivity. Firstly, an increase in bulb volume increases the thermal inertia of the thermometer. Secondly, if the bore of the capillary is too small, the liquid column may break easily under the influence of surface tension. In mercury-in-glass thermometers, for the Celsius scale, the bulb volume is about 6000 times the capillary volume. This corresponds to the length of one degree Celsius of the thermometer scale.

Dilatation Thermometers

Resistance Thermometers

Diodes and Transistors

Bimetallic Thermometers

Thermocouples

500

10

20

30

40

Figure 5 Liquid-in-glass thermometer

14

Laboratory thermometers are standardised for use with a liquid column which is totally immersed in the heating medium. If such a standardised thermometer is applied in conditions where the liquid column is not totally immersed, some portion of the liquid column will be at a different temperature from that of the bulb. Compensation for any systematic error due to this partial immersion is calculated from

= a n( i m )

(13)

The average apparent coefficient of cubic thermal expansion of the thermometric liquid in the given glass is equal to a, n is the length of the emergent liquid column, given in degrees of the thermometer scale, i , is the indicated temperature and m is the average value of the temperature of the emergent liquid column. In the case when m is higher than the indicated temperature the correction, of course, is negative. Under ordinary industrial conditions, it is not generally possible to arrange that the whole liquid column of the thermometer is immersed in the medium to be measured. Special thermometers standardised with a partially immersed column, are then applied. Normally, the nominal immersion depth and the average value of the temperature of the emergent liquid column are stated on the thermometer scale. If such a thermometer is used at the correct immersion depth, with the emergent column temperature, m, different from the nominal value, 'm , a corresponding correction must be applied. Such a correction is given by

= a n 'm m

(14)

In equation (14) 'm is the nominal value of the average temperature of the emergent liquid column whilst the other symbols are the same as in equation (13). In both cases, the mean temperature of the emergent liquid column is calculated by measuring its temperature at some points along its length. Alternatively, this average emergent temperature may be directly estimated by applying a second auxiliary thermometer with an elongated bulb placed close to the emergent column.
3.3. Other Sub-Species of Contacting Non-Electrical Thermometers

Other contacting non-electrical thermometers can be divided into those which provide objective, numerical measures and those which function subjectively. The subjective group, which are more generally known as thermal indicators, consist of those using the thermochromic properties of materials such as paints and crayons or perhaps liquid crystals. Another, known as pyrometric cones, indicates the temperature by a significant distortion in their original conical shape. Fibre optic thermometers, belonging to the objective group of non-electrical sensors, are usually based upon measuring (i) modulated variations in the refractive index of the fibre due to the temperature of the body under measurement, (ii) ultra-violet enhanced fluorescent radiation of a rare earth sample at two wavelengths, (iii) fluorescent decay time and (iv) using the properties of black-body cavities. Quartz thermometers utilise the temperature dependence of the resonance of crystalline quartz. All of the other types of contacting non-electrical temperature sensors are based upon the expansion of solids, liquids and gases. Thermometers using linear solid expansion are better known as bi-metallic thermometers or dilatation sensors in the tubular structure. In the bimetallic type two strips of material with different coefficients of linear expansion are welded or hot-rolled together to form a bimetallic strip. The shape of these strips may be flat, U-shaped, cylindrical helix-shaped or flat spiral shaped. Dilatation thermometers consist of a tube and a co-axial rod with a smaller linear coefficient of thermal expansion than that of the

tube. As the expansion difference of two materials of reasonable length is normally small, it needs to be amplified by a mechanical transmission to give an indication of the temperature. The capillary type liquid-in-glass thermometer already considered in Section 3.1 uses liquid expansion to measure temperature. Manometric thermometers operate on the principles of variable volume liquid-filled manometric thermometers or variable pressure gas-filled manometric thermometers. In the variable volume type the thermometer consists of a steel bulb, a connecting capillary and an elastic element with a dial transmission movement. As the liquid expands with temperature the expansion is propagated in the capillary. Subsequently the elastic element flexes and causes the pointer of the dial to indicate against a scale. Compensation can minimise the effects of a number of sources of error due to variations in ambient temperature, inadequacies of the mechanical transmission system and from temperature dependent liquid effects. Vapour pressure thermometers make up a type of filled manometric thermometer with the liquid and vapour phases of the thermometric material present. They operate upon the basis of the temperature dependence of the saturated vapour pressure of the applied thermometric liquid. Although they have a similar structure to the liquid filled form they have four different structures depending on the range of temperatures to be measured. Constant volume gas filled thermometers operate on the basis of the gas pressure as a function of temperature. Their structure is also similar to that for the constant pressure liquid filled system but with a larger bulb volume. As the expansion difference of two materials of reasonable length is normally small, it needs to be amplified by a mechanical transmission to give an indication of the temperature. The capillary type liquid-in-glass thermometer already considered in Section 3.1 uses liquid expansion to measure temperature. Manometric thermometers operate on the principles of variable volume liquid-filled manometric thermometers or variable pressure gas-filled manometric thermometers. In the variable volume type the thermometer consists of a steel bulb, a connecting capillary and an elastic element with a dial transmission movement. As the liquid expands with temperature the expansion is propagated in the capillary. Subsequently the elastic element flexes and causes the pointer of the dial to indicate against a scale. Compensation can minimise the effects of a number of sources of error due to variations in ambient temperature, inadequacies of the mechanical transmission system and from temperature dependent liquid effects. Vapour pressure thermometers make up a type of filled manometric thermometer with the liquid and vapour phases of the thermometric material present. They operate upon the basis of the temperature dependence of the saturated vapour pressure of the applied thermometric liquid. Although they have a similar structure to the liquid filled form they have four different structures depending on the range of temperatures to be measured. Constant volume gas filled thermometers operate on the basis of the gas pressure as a function of temperature. Their structure is also similar to that for the constant pressure liquid filled system but with a larger bulb volume.

15

16

4.
4.1.

Metallic Resistance Thermometry

General and historical background

In Imperial British units, as used by Callendar, this corresponds to approximately 17.56 in (quite long). Therefore manufacturing requires special techniques.
4.2. The Callendar-Van Dusen relations for metallic thermoresistors

Resistance thermometers belong to the general group of modulating sensors. Moreover, they are modulating electrical thermometers which sense temperature by convective and conductive heat transfer as described in their classification in Section 2.3 and Figures 3 and 4. Modulating sensors require the supply of energy to support the flow of acquired information. Figure 4 only contains an abbreviated classification of metallic resistance thermometers from the perspective of the sensing element itself. Nothing is included about the specific structures used in either scientific laboratories or industrial installations. Both of these types will be considered here. When Sir Humphrey Davy, the English chemist who invented the Davy Safety Lamp for use in coal mining, investigated the properties of platinum in 1821 he reported the temperature dependence of its resistance. Later, in 1871, C. W. Siemens proposed the use of temperature dependent resistance variations as a means of measuring temperature. However James Clerk Maxwell and Lord Kelvin discovered that the material proposed by Siemens exhibited hysteresis. This effect means that the resistance of the elemental wire differs upon heating up or cooling down. Later work, conducted by Prof. H. L. Callendar at about the same time as that of Chappius on the Normal Hydrogen Scale referred to in Section 1.3, was published in 1887 in a paper to The Royal Society. This paper can be regarded as the real beginning of resistance thermometry. At low temperatures the Callendar equations for Platinum thermoresistors were found to be inaccurate when compared with gas thermometry. The proposals made by M. S. Van Dusen in 1925 allowed compensation of these inaccuracies. Metallic thermoresistance sensors should preferably be made from materials with a high temperature coefficient of resistance and high resistivity. Other important features of the materials should be long term stability and repeatability of physical properties and structure. For this reason pure metals such as platinum, copper, nickel (and their alloys), nichrome and constantan are the most commonly encountered in resistance thermometry. Practically, they must be immune from oxidation, have no hysteresis, have mechanical strength and be ductile. Resistance thermometers use the temperature dependence of the resistance of a material in temperature measurement. As platinum is the most commonly used material for resistance thermometers they are often referred to as Pt-RTDs, an acronym for Platinum-ResistanceThermometer-Detector. They can operate in the temperature range between 13 K (-260C) and 1000K (+700C) with good repeatability and stability. To indicate the manufacturing problems overcome by Siemens and Callendar, it is instructive to consider a fairly straightforward calculation. Example 1 The resistivity of platinum at 0 C is 1.1x10-5 cm. Calculate the length of 0.025 mm diameter wire required to give a total resistance of 100 . Solution:Cross-sectional area of the wire, A =

The interpolation equations specified in ITS-90 were designed to improve compatibility between Pt-RTDs, which use change of resistance with temperature. Before considering the ITS-90 interpolation procedures, the essential background of the Callendar-Van Dusen interpolation equations is required. Consider the general case where a thermoresistor, with a resistance RT, is measuring temperature in the neighbourhood of some reference temperature, T0 K (usually assumed to be 0 oC). Assume that the temperature is the only factor responsible for the change of resistance of the thermoresistance sensor. Expanding in a Taylor series about T0 gives the resistance, RT, of the sensor as 1 RT 1 2 RT 1 n RT RT = R0 1 + ( ) T = T0 T + ( ) T 2 + ...+ ( ) T n + ... (15) 2 n R T ! R n ! R 2 T T 0 0 0 where RT is the resistance of the thermoresistor at the temperature T K, Ro is the resistance of the thermoresistor at the reference temperature, T0, and T = T - T0. Assume a finite increase of temperature, neglect fourth order terms and higher and introduce the conventional definition for the thermal coefficients A, B and C of the change of resistance. Equation (15) may then be written in its most frequently encountered version as R T = R 0 [1 + AT + BT 2 + CT 3 +....] (16) In Equation (16) the coefficients A, B and C, which are normally assumed to be independent of temperature, are defined by l RT A= ( ) T = T0 (17) R0 T
B= l 2R ( 2 ) T = T0 2 ! R0 T

(18)

d 2 = (0.025 01 . ) = 4.90873 10 6 cm 2 4 4 l 100 4.90873 10 6 Hence as R = then l = = 44.6248 cm A . 10 5 11

2

l 3R (19) ( 3 ) T = T0 3! R 0 T In the usual range of temperatures in which thermoresistance thermometers are used third order effects can sometimes be neglected so that Equation (16) becomes RT = R0 [1 + AT + BT 2 ] (20) Using a linear temperature dependence for the thermoresistor is a convenient, intuitive starting point so that Equation (20) can be approximated as RT R0 [1 + T ] (21) For reasons which will become apparent shortly it should be noted that A in Equation (20) is not equal to in Equation (21). This linearity, which is shown in Figure 6, may be defined using the Fundamental Interval, or FI, of the thermoresistor given by FI = R100 - R0 (22) where R100 is the resistance of the thermoresistor at 100 oC and R0 is its resistance at 0 oC. This relation also defines the linear resistance temperature coefficient, , as C=

R100 R0 FI = 100 R0 100 R0

(23)

17

18

Although Equation (20) is now a well known representation for the resistance of a PtRTD it was quite revolutionary at the time of Callendar. Even after realising this form for the temperature dependence, Callendar still had some problems to resolve before he could realistically use Pt-RTDs as temperature sensors. One of these problems involved the use of equation (20) itself. The measured resistance of the thermoresistor is associated with the value of a specific temperature. This resistance must then be used to calculate the temperature.
T 100 C Correction TPt True temperature
o

The nominal Platinum temperature referred to above, is the coefficient of the right hand side of Equation (26). It can also be obtained by inspection from Figure 6 as
R R0 TPt = 100 T R100 R0

(27)

Since Callander had previously obtained values for A and B as 3.985x10-3 /oC, and 5.85x10-7 /oC2 respectively he realised that BT << A over the usual operating temperatures where he used the PRT. Using this approximation and Equation (27) Equation (26) becomes R R0 B B (28) T = 100 T 1 + (100 T ) = TPt 1 + (100 T ) A A R100 R0 where (B/A) -1.5x10-4 so that substitution of (B/A) = /(100)2 reduces Equation (25) to
R R0 T T T = T 1 100 100 100 R100 R0

(29)

0 oC R0 R 100

RT Fundamental Interval

Figure 6 Illustrating the derivation of the Callendar Pt-RTD relation (not drawn to scale)

Equation (29) is the equation used by Callander in his approach to temperature measurement using the Pt-RTD. The procedure which is followed when using Equation (29) has two stages. When the resistance, RT, is measured at the temperature in question, the nominal Platinum temperature of Equation (27) is calculated. The correction given by the second term in Equation (29) is then calculated and added to the nominal Platinum temperature to get the first corrected value. Although a second correction may then be calculated using this updated estimate of the true temperature such a correction is not usually necessary. Callendar actually constructed pre-calculated Tables, similar to tables of logarithms, to speed up the process of calculation. For historical reasons, Equation (29) is rewritten in the modified form
T T (30) RT = R0 1 + T - 1 100 100 In the range of temperatures from 73 K to 293 K a very well known equation, which retains the third order term, is given by

As this calculation involves the solution of the quadratic in Equation (20), repeated evaluation of square roots must be performed without the help of hand calculators, which were not even envisaged at that time. Faced with the problem presented by these calculations, which could only be performed using logarithmic methods of calculation at that time, Callendar resolved to perform the calculation of temperature from measurement of the resistance of the Pt sensor by another, ostensibly simpler, route. His ingenious method, which can be followed with the help of Figure 6, consisted of two parts. In the first, the coefficients A, B and C of Equation (20), the defining equation of the thermometer, were measured using a calibrating procedure. The second part makes use of these previously evaluated calibrating coefficients. A calculated nominal Platinum temperature, TPt,, as illustrated in Figure 6, is obtained from the measured resistance assuming that the temperature dependence has the linear form of Equation (21).Subsequently, TPt, is used to recalculate the temperature by adding a correction. The correction to be applied was calculated as follows. First it was noted that RT = R0 at 0 oC (i.e. T = 0). Also, at a temperature of 100 oC (i.e. T = 100) (24) R100 = R0 [1 + A 100 + B (100) 2 ] Computing the ratio of RT - R0 from Equation (20) to the FI = R100 - R0, as defined in Equation (22), from Equation (24) gives after some simplification RT R0 T A + BT = (25) R100 R0 100 A + 100B This can be rewritten for the first T on the right hand side as RT R0 R R0 A + 100B B(100 T (26) T = 100 T 1 + = 100 A + BT R100 R0 R100 R0 A + BT

RT = R0 [1 + AT + BT 2 + CT 3 ( T 100)]

(31)

where R0 is the resistance at a temperature of 273 K, T = T - 273 and T is the absolute temperature in kelvins. For standard Pt-RTDs the coefficients have the values A = 3.985x10-3 /oC, B = -5.85x10-7 /oC2 and C = 4.27x10-12 /oC4. In the case of industrial units the values of the coefficients are less critical with values of A = 3.908x10-3 /oC, B = -5.80x10-7 /oC2 and C = 4.27x10-12 /oC4. The resistance/temperature relationship of platinum is given by the modified CallendarVan Dussen equation T T 2 (32a) 1 T > 0C R0 1 + T - = R0 1 + AT + BT 100 100 3 RT = T T T T (32b) 1 1 1 + T - R0 100 100 100 100 T < 0C R0 1 + At + BT 2 + CT 3 (T 100) (32c)

Typical values of constants are: = 0.003926; A = 3.9848 10 -3 ; B = -5.87 10 -7 ; C = -4.00 10 -12

20

19

cylindrical. A birdcage structure as shown in Figure 8(c) gives the whole assembly good mechanical rigidity while the coiled-coil structure of Figure 8(d) also increases the sensitivity because a larger value of R0 is possible. The partially supported structure of Figure 8(e) may give rise to stress induced change in resistance. This is strictly regarded as a temperature error reading. The closed structures of Figure 8(f) allow the resistance element to be encapsulated with either an insulating fluid or solid. Nowadays it is quite common to encapsulate all kinds of temperature sensors inside a metal sheath which is tightly packed with a mineral insulating powder such as MgO. A typical structure is shown in Figure 8(g). Heat transfer in sheathed sensors may be through the surface of the cylindrical sheath or through the sheath tip.

Figure 7 Temperature dependence of various materials

The assumption that the conversion of temperature into resistance is a linear function is correct only for small ranges of the temperature measured. If the precision is important, a quadratic or cubic approximation is more usually used in the measuring systems. Other types of RTD may use Copper, Nickel or Nickel-Iron (also called Balco). Comparison of the resistance/temperature dependence of RTDs from different materials is given in Figure 7.
4.3. Errors in metallic resistance thermometry

Errors in temperature measurement using thermo-resistors may arise due to either intrinsic or extrinsic factors. scatter of the mean value of the temperature coefficient of resistance, which is defined as the ratio ( RT = 393 RT = 373 ),of the resistance RT=393 at a temperature

of 393 K and RT=373 at a temperature of 373 K the scatter of initial resistance values, changes in the coefficients , , due to adverse external, maybe unaccountable factors, ageing processes lead wire effects As a temperature sensor measures its own temperature, measurement error will always occur when the sensor temperature is not exactly the same as that of the body under measurement. Other sources of error are self-heating of the sensor due to the electrical current flowing in the circuit and the influence of the contact resistances and induced thermoelectric potentials at the terminals.
4.4. Structure of metallic thermoresistor transducer assemblies

Figure 8 Various forms of RTD structure

Platinum resistance thermometers may have an open (i.e. bare) structure or closed (i.e. sheathed) structure. Almost all modern designs are refinements of that initially proposed by Callendar as shown in Figure 8(a). The windings may be totally or partially supported. Totally supported open structures, shown in Figure 8(b), may be flat, cruciform or

21

22

4.5.

Thin Film Metallic Thermoresistors

Thin film technology may be applied to the manufacture of Pt-RTDs. They are now almost totally indistinguishable from the more traditional wire-wound types in terms of repeatability and stability with time and environmental conditions. Manufacturing costs in the earlier stages of production are lower. Manual winding is replaced by automated film deposition, resistance pattern etching and laser trimming of wafers containing at least 800 elements on a wafer which is 5 cm square. It is now common to see 1000 Pt-RTD elements. This high element resistance means that any contact or lead wire resistance errors are swamped. The thin film is laid down on an Aluminium Oxide substrate in a form which includes links between variously dimensioned resistance pads. In the final stages of production a computer controlled laser is used to burn out or fuse these links so that the nominal resistance of the detecting element is within specification. A typical structure uses inner and outer sheaths made of a ceramic material with a suitable cement filling as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 Thin film RTD sensor construction

23

5.
5.1.

SEMICONDUCTOR RESISTANCE THERMOMETERY

General And Historical Background

Semiconductor thermometers are made from materials which are neither conductors nor insulators. Research of the thermal properties of semiconductors was first reported by William Faraday in 1834. Their industrial production was started at the Bell Telephone
Resistivity, ( cm) 100.0 d i Carrier density,n (cm 10 17
-3

being manufactured. This allows interchangeability with a reduction in cost due to the removal of any need for recalibration after substitution. Thermistors are non-linear temperature dependent resistors Tref. The resistance vs temperature characteristics of high temperature coefficient NTC thermistors are shown in Figure 11. In practice, only thermistors with a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC type)

10.0

10 16

1.0

nd

10 15

ni 0.1 Temperature, T (K)

10 14

Figure 10 The temperature dependent regions of compound and doped semiconductors

Company and, simultaneously, at Osram in 1930. These materials may have an intrinsic, or pure form, a compound form or a doped form. Compound and doped semiconductors are often called extrinsic semiconductors. In semiconductors carrier mobility and carrier density are strong functions of temperature. This dependence upon temperature variation can be separated into three ranges as shown in Figure 10. A region, which is often called the "freezeout" region, occurs at temperatures below 150 K. As the influence of impurities is small due to a reduction in their ionisation, their effects become frozen out. A range, which extends from 200-500 K, corresponds to the material having a positive temperature coefficient of resistance. It is in this region that the doping effects exert maximum influence. In the range of temperatures exceeding 600 K doped materials behave almost as though they were intrinsic. As these effects can be very tightly controlled and predicted for doped materials, their use in temperature measurement is inevitable. 5.2. Thermistor Thermometers Bulk effect two electrode resistance semiconductor sensors posses no semiconductor junctions. NTC thermistors are widely used semiconductor temperature sensors with high temperature coefficients. As they exhibit strong temperature non-linearity, response linearisation must be performed using either circuitry or software. In spite of this non-linear response to temperature variation, thermistors with close repeatability and fidelity are now

Figure 11 Resistance RT of a thermistor sensor at temperature T to RT at 293 K (20 C) vs temperature,

are used for temperature measurement. Thermistors having Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC type) are only used for the binary detection of a given temperature value. At 20 oC the resistance of a thermistor may be in the range of k to about 40 M.Considering an n-type semiconductor the conductivity, , is expressed as = nq (33) where, , is the conductivity, n is the density of electrons (per cm3), q is the charge on an electron and is the carrier mobility. In n-type material the density of electrons is
n= Nc Nd e
Eg 2 kT

(34)

where Nc is the density of conduction band states, Nd is the density of donor impurities (per cm3), Eg is the material energy gap, T is the absolute temperature (K), k is the Boltzmann constant. Mobility, , which is a function of doping and temperature, also includes carrier scattering effects due to many sources. Although all of these effects may be applied for thermistors, it is easier to see the principles of temperature modulated conductivity if only

24

25

lattice scattering is considered. Under these conditions, to a good approximation, the mobility may be written using a constant of proportionality, k1, as = k1Td (35) Equations (33)-(35) may be combined to obtain the resistivity of n-type material as = -1 = k2T-ce(B'/T) (36) where k2 is a constant of proportionality and B is a constant depending upon the actual material used. The best fit to this basic relationship gives the commonly used approximation to the resistance vs temperature characteristic of a thermistor in the form

percentage of these components is varied by adding Co and Cu, the specific resistivity can be varied between 10 .cm and 105 .cm with a corresponding increase in the B-coefficient from 2580 K to 4600 K. At the reference temperature of 293 K, the value of T usually lies between -2 %/K and -6 %/K. As these normal NTC materials have phase transitions above 500 oC, they cannot be used to manufacture devices for use in this range, However, rare earths may be used up to temperatures around 1500 oC.

R T = R e T

(37)

where, T is the thermistor temperature in K, RT is the thermistor resistance at temperature T, R is the limit value of RT as T. B is the constant (= B' of Equation (36)), depending on the energy gap or bandgap, Eg,, of the thermistor material in K, which gives the best straight line fit to a logarithmic plot of Equation (36). Although attempts have been made to provide a better approximation, the one given in Equation (37) is almost exclusively used. As the value, R, is impossible to determine, Equation (37) can be expressed more readily in terms of its resistance, RTref , at some reference temperature, Tref, usually 293 K. Using the same notation for the other parameters as in Equation (37) the more readily usable form is
RT = RTref e
1 1 B T Tref

(38)

Figure 12. Various physical structures for thermistor thermometers

It is also possible to assess the sensitivity of a thermistor to changes in temperature by defining its resistance temperature coefficient, T, as 1 dRT T = (39) RT dT From Equation (39) it is evident that the absolute value of T, and the sensitivity of the thermistor both decrease with increasing measured temperature. The coefficient, T, is usually expressed in %/K. Using Equation (38), and its symbols notation, it is possible to represent Equation (37) in another frequently used form given by
R T = R Tref e
Tref Tref T T

5.4.

Silicon Resistance Thermometer Detectors or Si-RTDs, Also Called Silistors Doped Si, in the "normal' region of semiconductor behaviour, has a resistivity given by
= 25
T 298
2 .3

(41)

Equation (41) gives a power series expansion for the resistance, which is similar to that of a Pt-RTD, in the form RT = RTref [1 + A(T Tref ) + B (T Tref )2 ] (42) The constants A and B depend upon sensor type whilst RTref is the resistance of the sensor at the reference temperature, Tref. Hence, it is a simple matter to store a calibration table in ROM for high precision microprocessor based applications. A resistance temperature coefficient can be defined for these devices in the same way as for the Pt-RTD. The resistance vs temperature characteristics of Si-RTDs are shown in Figure 13. 5.5. Structure of Silistors Silistors are PTC silicon resistors which should not be confused with the binary type of PTC. The subsequent n+ diffusion, and silicon nitride passivation ensure long-term stability. Metallization prevents contamination and migration. Finally, galvanic growth of silver mushroom contacts is completed. This ensures good pressure contact for the KTY83/KTY85 series. When these contacts are plated with a copper-tin-silver alloy they ensure reliable high temperature operation of the KTY84 high temperature detectors.

(40)

where, Tref , is the resistance coefficient at Tref, T = T - Tref is the temperature difference. 5.3. Manufacture and Structure of Thermistors

Figure 12 shows various kinds of thermistor structure. The production technology of thermistors, which is very complicated, uses ceramic manufacturing technology, consisting of high pressure forming and sintering at temperatures up to 1000 oC. Although the process for the manufacture of both types is similar, they are made from different materials. PTC types have a fundamental composition based upon barium titanate. Mixtures of different powdered oxides of Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Ti, Zn and Co are used to make NTC thermistors. Their properties depend upon their heat treatment temperature and atmosphere, as well as on the manner in which they are subsequently annealed. After the thermistor has been metal coated and trimmed to adjust its resistance, its connecting leads are then attached before encapsulation. The main parameters of thermistors are controlled by their composition. For normal applications in the temperature range -50 oC to +200 oC, all types contain Mn and Ni. If the

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Resistance, k 2.5

6.
6.1.

RESISTANCE THERMOMETER PROBLEMS AND CIRCUITS

Special Factors in Using Resistance Temperature Sensors

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0 -50 0.0 50 100 150 Temperature, o C

Resistance thermometers may be applied for either temperature measurement or temperature compensation. In any case, it is recommended that other components such as resistors and potentiometers, which are used for completing the measuring circuit or for calibration purposes, should have as low a temperature coefficient as possible. This means that fixed resistors should preferably be metal film types and potentiometers should be cermet types. Other factors are concerned with sources of error and sensitivity. Errors arise from non-linearity in either the temperature relation of the sensor or the configuration of the measuring circuit. Errors are also caused by the resistance, RCu, of any essential leads in this circuit. Another type of error is due to what is called self-heating. The simplest and most common method for linearising the temperature relation of a temperature sensor uses passive circuit methods. Thus combinations of fixed resistors with low temperature coefficients may give either linear voltage output or linear resistance output as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 13 Resistance vs Temperature characteristic of a Si-RTD

Figure 15 Passive component linearisation of resistance temperature sensors

Figure 14 The physical structure of Si-RTDs

The principles of the KTY series of PTC silicon resistors are represented in Figure 14. They consist of an n-type silicon cell metallised on one side with a small contact layer on the other. When used in the single cell structure they are of more basic type. However, as they are polarity sensitive bilateral connection is not possible. The formal double sensor structure, illustrated in Figure 13, consists of two single sensors with opposite polarity in series. This ensures that the sensor has bilateral terminal properties. All of the sensors may be supplied with different types of encapsulation with a recommended operating range of -55 to +175 o C. The single sensor basic structure includes a polarity marking on the encapsulation. A typical form is the KTY83-1 type, which has a nominal resistance of 1000 . Although it is a single sensor it can operate at temperatures up to 175 oC. Extension even of this range to +300 oC, is allowed with the KTY84 series which is supplied with a nominal resistance of 1000 measured at 100 oC. The higher nominal resistance of the devices means that terminal and contact resistances exert a negligible influence upon their operation.

Ohm's law is the basis of all measurements of the actual resistance of a resistance thermometer irrespective of whether it is based upon conductors or semiconductors. An electric current must necessarily flow in the detector for this purpose. As this current produces a heating effect, which may cause additional measuring errors, it must be limited to a permissible value. The maximum permissible current is a function of the heat exchange from the detector, which depends on the physical shape of its surface, the material of its protective sheath and on the surrounding medium. To perform the calculation it is necessary to use what is called the "electro-thermal analogy". This allows all of the electrical circuit theorems to be applied to thermal "circuits". Thus the flow of heat flux is analogous to electrical current and temperature to electrical voltage. The internally dissipated heat in a resistance based temperature sensor is due to the power, I2RT, caused by Joule heating induced by the measuring current. Referring to Figure 16 this is modelled by a current source which represents the flow of heat flux. In a steady thermal state the temperature, T, of the sensor sensitive point equals a constant value because the thermal capacitance of the sensor is "fully charged". Moreover it is different from the temperature, a, of the surrounding medium 1 due to the thermal resistance, KW-1, of the material between the sensor sensitive point and C its surrounding environment. Apply Ohm's law to the thermal circuit of Figure 1 A maximum measuring current, IT,max, in terms of the maximum self-heating temperature error, max = T a K, the resistance of the detector, R , at T oC and the heat dissipation constant, C in WK-1, is given by

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 max C R Figure 17 shows a thermistor in different environments. I T max =

(29)

RT RT 10 5

Si-RTD 2 1 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.05 Pt-RTD Thermistor -3.0 % -3.8 % -4.6 % -5.4 % 253 293 333 373 413 Temperature, K

Figure 16 The thermal "circuit" for calculating the maximum measuring error due to self-heating in resistance temperature sensors

0.02 0.01

The characteristics of various thermoresistors, which are illustrated in Figure 18, uses the temperature dependence of the ratio, RT RTref , for a Pt-100 RTD, a thermistor and a Silistor at Tref = 293 K (or 20 C) for comparative purposes. The coefficient, Tref , of the
o

Figure 17 Comparison of the sensitivities of Pt-RTDs, Si-RTDs and thermistors

6.2.

Measuring and Conditioning Circuits for Thermoresistors

thermistor is used as a parameter for the thermistor sensitivity.

V T 2 T1 T3 T4

Resistance thermometers measure temperature by associating a value of resistance to a value of temperature. To measure this temperature it is necessary to measure the resistance of the thermometer. Resistance is measured using the principle of Ohm's Law. Thus by causing a known current to flow in a resistance the resistance can be measured by measuring the voltage developed by the current. Alternatively, if a standard voltage and a standard resistor are available potentiometric methods may be used to measure the resistance. In fact the resistance is only measured directly by measuring the voltage and associating the voltage with the temperature. Voltage conditioners are classified in Figure 19. CONDITIONING
b

T a1 T a2 T a3 T0 -

a I

CONSTANT CURRENT IDEAL SOURCE NON-IDEAL SOURCE BALANCE OR ZERO BALLAST CIRCUT

CONSTANT VOLTAGE

Figure `17. A thermistor in different environments

VOLTAGE DIVISION OR POTENTIOMETRIC

LEVELS

BRIDGE CIRCUT

IDEAL SOURCE

NON-IDEAL SOURCE
CLASSES

FULL -BRIDGE

HALF-BRIDGE

Figure. 19 Classification of constant voltage conditioners for resistance thermometers

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7.

THERMOELECTRIC THERMOMETERS.

A large group of temperature measuring devices consists of systems with thermoelectric sensors. A contact potential difference exists at the junction of two different metals or their alloys. This may be described by the equation : kT N A V AB = V A VB + ln (43) q NB where V A ,VB are the potentials produced by the output work function from the metals A and B, N A and N B _ are the number of free electrons in each unit volume of the metals, k is Boltzmann's constant, q is the electron charge, T is absolute temperature.

The dependence given in Equation (47) shows, that, if we add a measuring device to a circuit consisting of two different materials, with their junctions held at different temperatures, one of which is known, then the results and characteristics of the thermoelement will define the unknown temperature. Consider the conditions shown in Figure 28. Two additional junctions of different metals now exist at the points where the meter is connected in two different crcuits. Analysing both circuits, which represent the introduction of a third metal into the thermometer circuit, leads to a very important conclusion: The third metal does not change the electromotive force if the temperatures of its connections are the same. Another problem exists in a real temperature measuring system using a thermoelectric sensor The connection is shown in Figure 29. One junction needs to be placed where the temperature is to be measured. This is called the measuring junction. As the other junction, which is held at some known temperature, acts as a reference it is called the reference junction. In practice, these junctions may be separated from each other by a considerable distance. The use of compensating leads, made of materials with identical thermoelectric properties as the measuring sensor, are essential for this purpose. T1 is the temperature of measuring weld, T2 is the temperature of the points of connection of the thermoelement and compensating leads, T0 is the temperature reference, cc is a millivoltmeter - thermoelement connecting leads. Thermoelectric characteristics are presented in the Figure 30, 31 and Table 2.

Figure 27. A closed circuit consisting of two metals and two junctions at different temperatures T0 and T1

When two different metals are connected as in Figure 25 and their welds are placed at the same temperature ( T0 = T1 ), the sum of the potential difference can be shown to be zero: V AB ( T0 ) + VBA ( T0 ) = 0 (44) If T0 T1 , the circuit will produce a resultant potential difference called Peltier's electromotive force (e.m.f.) or thermoelectric force. k N E P = V AB ( T1 ) VBA ( T0 ) = ( T1 T0 ) ln A (45) NB e Moreover, the circuit also produces Thomson's electromotive force, which is due to the gradient of free electrons. This electron gradient depends upon the temperature gradient in a homogeneous material. Thomson's electromotive force is described by the dependence : (46) ET = ( A B )( T1 T0 ) where A and B , known as the Thomson coefficients, depend on the respective lead material. As both of the Peltier and Thompson electromotive forces act together, their resultant (algebraic sum), which is a function of the temperature difference, is given by E = E P + ET = f ( T1 T0 ) (47)
Figure 29. Thermoelement with compensating leads.

(a)

(b)

Figure 28 A millivoltmeter connected to a thermoelectric circuit consisting of the thermocouple metals A and B and a third metal C. (a) the meter is inserted at an interruption at the weld, (b) the meter is inserted at an arbitrary interruption.

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Table 2. The range of thermoelectric metals showing the values of the electromotive force of metals and alloys in comparison with platinum (assumed as the basis) in the temperature difference of 100 K.

Metal constantan nickel cobalt alumel pallad platinum aluminium lead platinorod (90 % Pt, 10 % Rh)

e.m.f. in mV -3.51 -1.48 -1.33 -1.29 -0.59 0 +0.42 +0.44 +0.643

Metal iridium rhod silver zinc copper gold tungsten molibdenum iron

e.m.f. in mV +0.65 +0.70 +0.74 +0.76 +0.76 +0.78 +1.12 +1.45 +1.89

(a)

(b)

nickel-chromium +2.2 (85 % Ni, 12 % Cr) chromel +2.81 A common nominal temperature reference is usually taken as the ice point temperature which is 273 K ( 0o C ). Any other value of temperature can also serve as a reference temperature but it requires further corrections. In precision measurement, the free ends of the thermoelement are placed in a mixture of water and ice or in thermostatic devices. To estimate the thermal electromotive force value DC compensators or millivoltmeters (with high input resistance) are used. To linearise the E=f(T) characteristics digital or analogue systems are employed and to keep the indications in different ambient temperatures we use bridge systems (similar to Figure 32), where the output voltage is added to the produced electromotive force. Table 3 summarises the various types of temperature sensors and the range of temperature measured.

Figure 31 The way of correction after introducing a new temperature reference T0 with T0n the nominal temperature reference, T0 is the new temperature reference, (a) for T0 > T0n , (b) for T0 < T0n , E is the correction, T1 is the temperature without correction, T1 is the temperature after correction.

Figure 32 The bridge system of the temperature reference ( T0 ) change compensation with a resistor RT of the resistance depending on the temperature. A, B make up the thermoelement, A', B' are the compensation leads, R, R, R are the bridge resistors, U Z is the supply voltage,U N is the bridge output voltage, T1 is the unknown temperature and T0 is the temperature reference.

Figure 30 Platinum related electromotive force some metals and alloys as a function of temperature.

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Table 3 Table summarising the type of temperature sensors, the physical phenomenon used, the measurement method and the temperature range

PHYSICAL PHENOMENON

THE TYPE OF TRANSDUCER OR MEASUREMENT METHOD

THE RANGE OF THE TEMPERATURE MEASURED

Change in resistance Thermoelectric phenomenon

p-n junction phenomenon

Thermal hum of resistors

Quadruple nucleus resonance Mossbauers effect The change of physical parameters (length, volume) Dielectric constant change

1K 10K 100K 273K 500K 1300K ------------------------------------------Metal thermistors -------------------------Thermistors -----------Carbon transducers Thermocouples : -----------------------------------semiconducting, -----------------------------------------of metal alloys, --------------------from the platinum group -------------------heat-resisting metals The change of feedback -------------current in a diode or a transistor. --------------The change of voltage in the E-B junction in a transistor. The comparison of the hum ----------------------voltage of two resistors. Counting the number of the ----------------hum impulses overcoming certain voltage level ---------------------------------

--------Gas and quartz resonators String transducers Capacitance transducers Piezoelectric transducers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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