The researchers from the University of Silesia and Włodzimierz Trzebiatowski Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research at Polish Academy of Sciences developed a new method of measuring temperature, which may find application in optical temperature sensors. It enables to determine the temperature of objects by means of measuring the radiation emitted by them. This measurement is taken without physical contact with the objects.
Studies concerning glass of potential application in optical sensor thermometry are very interesting, since they can lead to the development of a sensor to be used in places difficult to reach. It may find application in, among others, biomedical diagnostics, or can be used for taking measurements in toxic conditions, e.g., in refineries, power plants and mines. Its main advantages are: non-invasiveness, fairly high chemical resistance and thermal stability. Silicate glass, used so far in a sensor system, has adversely affected sensitivity of the entire system, and what follows – precision of measurements. That is why the researchers suggested the use of lead-germanate glass with the admixture of lanthanide ions: erbium and ytterbium. Thermal sensitivity of the glass used is comparable to the values obtained for some nonocrystals, and is one of the highest reported in the literature. The advantage of the patented solution is precision and resolution of measurements, and what makes it unique is its independence of the measuring conditions.
The authors of the invention are the researchers from the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Silesia: Prof. Wojciech Pisarski, head of the Department of Materials Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Assoc. Prof. of the University of Silesia, Eng. Joanna Pisarska from the Department of Inorganic and Metal-organic Chemistry and Catalysis, and Prof. Witold Ryba-Romanowski, Assoc. Prof. Radosław Lisiecki from Włodzimierz Trzebiatowski Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research at Polish Academy of Sciences in Wrocław.