Nondestructive Optical Depth Profiling in Thin Films through

Robust Inversion of the Laser Photopyroelectric Effect Impulse

Response
J. F. Power and M. C. Prystay
Applied Spectroscopy, Vol. 49, Issue 6, pp. 725-746 (1995)
The laser photopyroelectric effect measures an optical absorption depth profile in a thin film through
the spatial dependence of a heat flux source established below the film surface by light absorption
from a short optical pulse. In this work, inverse depth profile reconstruction was achieved by means
of an inverse method based on the expectation-minimum principle (as reported in a companion
paper), applied in conjunction with a constrained least-squares minimization, to invert the
photopyroelectric theory. This method and zero-order Tikhonov regularization were applied to the
inversion of experimental photopyroelectric data obtained from samples with a variety of discrete
and continuous depth dependences of optical absorption. While both methods were found to deliver
stable and accurate performance under experimental conditions, the method based on the
constrained expectation-minimum principle was found to exhibit improved resolution and robustness
over zero-order Tikhonov regularization.

The Inverse Photopyroelectric Technique for the Measurement

of Concentration and Transport Properties in Binary Systems:
The Thermal Effusivity of Ethanol-Water Mixtures
Mihai Chirtoc1, Valer Toa, Dane Biani, and Paul Torfs
Berichte der Bunsengesellschaft fr physikalische Chemie
Volume 95, Issue 7, pages 766769, Juli 1991

Article first published online: 8 MAY 2010

A new method and apparatus are described for the determination of concentration in liquid mixtures
through the measurement of their thermal effusivity. The inverse photopyroelectric method (IPPE)
implies the front illumination of a thin pyroelectric sensor the rear side of which is brought into the
intimate thermal contact with the sample. The feasibility of this novel technique is demonstrated with
ethanol-water mixtures. Good agreement between the experiment and theory has been obtained.

Thermal Diffusivity Measurement of Liquid Samples by Inverse

Photopyroelectric Detection
Naoki Morioka, Atsushi Yarai and Takuji Nakanishi

Naoki Morioka et al 1995 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34 2579. doi:10.1143/JJAP.34.2579

Received 28 November 1994, accepted for publication 18 February 1995.
This paper describes a new method for measuring the thermal diffusivity of liquid samples through
inverse photopyroelectric detection measurement. It is proven that thermal diffusivity values can be
obtained with both amplitude signals and phase signals in a low frequency range. At around 3 Hz,
these values are found to correspond to their theoretical values. We experimentally prove that the
piezoelectric effect, which films are known to exhibit, is negligibly small compared with the
photopyroelectric effect.

Effect of Fat Content on the Thermal Effusivity of Foods: An

Inverse Photopyroelectric Study
Szafnera, D. Bicanicbc & O. Dka *a*
pages 666-674
Photopyroelectric (PPE) methods belong to the class of photothermal techniques and provide the
means for determining some thermal properties of foods in a relatively fast and simple way. In
particular, the inverse variant of the photopyroelectric method, abbreviated IPPE, was used here to
determine thermal effusivity (also called heat penetration coefficient) of the sour cream and
mayonnaise as a function of their fat content. In the sour cream the latter varied from 12 to 31 g/100
g as compared to 27 to 80 g/100 g range in mayonnaise; for both samples the effusivity decreased
linearly with the increasing fat content. Each additional gram of fat in 100 g sour cream or
mayonnaise resulted in 11.13 and 12.11 Ws1/2m2K1 drop in effusivity. Good agreement between the
experimentally obtained data and the calculated effusivity was observed if both, the composition
and the thermal properties of individual constituents of sour cream were known.

Absolute values of specific heat capacity and thermal

conductivity of liquids from different modes of operation of a
simple photopyroelectric setup

J. Caerels, C. Glorieux and J. Thoen

Rev. Sci. Instrum. 69, 2452 (1998)

Photothermal techniques offer a nice tool for the determination of changes in thermal parameters of
different types of samples. Using a very thin pyroelectrictransducer, a very simple and versatile ac
calorimeter can be built. The described inverse pyroelectric technique allows high-resolution accalorimetric measurements of the temperature dependence of the specific heat capacity. Since
measuring frequencies up to a few hertz can be used, which are higher than in most alternative accalorimetric setups, noise can be reduced and measuring times shortened. With a small
modification of the measurement cell, the determination of absolute specific heat capacity and
thermal conductivity values of liquid samples was achieved. Comparison of the frequency response
of the system with and without a solid thermal load in the neighborhood of the sample yields data
with an accuracy of about 5% and 10% for specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity,
respectively. If necessary, absolute values of specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity can
also be obtained by making contact between a (solid) thermal load and the liquid. A pure accalorimetric operation is then no longer possible, thus restricting this mode of operation to
homogeneous or to properly aligned anisotropic liquids.