Resistance thermometer detectors

The two primary temperature-sensing devices used in the CPI are thermocouples (TCs) and resistance thermometer detectors (RTDs). Thermocouples are less expensive and more rugged than RTDs but are an order of magnitude less precise than RTDs. Typically, RTDs should be used for important temperature control points, such as on reactors and distillation columns. 

Resistance thermometer detectors (RTDs) are made of either metal or semiconductor materials as resistive elements and may be classed as follows [3] ... 

Thermocouples, bolometers and pyroelectric and semiconductor detectors are also used. The first three are basically resistance thermometers. A semiconductor detector counts photons falling on it by measuring the change in conductivity due to electrons being excited from fhe valence band info fhe conduction band. 

Embedded temperature detectors are resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) or resistance thermometers or thermocouples, built within the machine during manufacture at points that are not accessible when the machine has been assembled. This method is generally employed for the likely hot spots of a machine such as the slot portion and the overhangs of the stator windings. 

In a resistance level detector, a resistive thermometer is powered with 0.1-1 mW. When the thermometer is inside the LHe, its temperature is about 4 K. If it is raised into the vapour phase, its temperature raises because of the weaker thermal contact. The sensing element is usually a NbTi wire (see e.g. ref. [31]). 

NTD (neutron transmutation doped) germanium chips are used as resistive thermometers in low-temperature detectors/calorimeters. 

Resistance temperature detector. In the low-medium temperature range, thermometers based on resistometry are often used. A reference high-accuracy thermometer is the platinum resistance temperature detector which may be used as an interpolation standard in the temperature range from the triple point... 

There are two principal classes of this type of sensor, viz. (i) resistance thermometers (resistance temperature detectors)—which are constructed from normal metallic conducting materials, and (ii) thermistors—which are bulk semiconductor sensors. 

The Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) or Resistance Thermometer The variation of resistance with temperature 0 for metals can be expressed by ... 

Clearly one obtains the best performance for a given time constant with a detector that has the lowest possible heat capacity. The heat capacity of a crystal varies like C oc (T/0 )3, where On is the Debye temperature. Diamond has the highest Debye temperature of any crystal, so FIRAS used an 8 mm diameter, 25 fim thick disk of diamond as a bolometer (Mather et al., 1993). Diamond is transparent, so a very thin layer of gold was applied to give a surface resistance close to the 377 ohms/square impedance of free space. On the back side of the diamond layer an impedance of 267 ohms/square gives a broadband absorbtion. Chromium was alloyed with the gold to stabilize the layer. The temperature of the bolometer was measured with a small silicon resistance thermometer. Running at T = 1.6 K, the FIRAS bolometers achieved an optical NEP of about 10 14 W/y/IIz. 

Whatever the scale or method of culture (T-flask, Schott bottle, spinner flask, or bioreactor), the temperature of the culture medium with which the cells are in contact is always a fundamental state variable, because it interferes with growth and the production process. However, it is a process variable that is easy to monitor and control. On a small scale the culture flask is usually put in a thermostatically controlled incubator, where the measured value of a thermometer sends a sign to turn the heating on or off ( on-off control ). In bioreactors, there are equivalent systems, as will be seen later. Usually, however, a resistance thermometer sensor type is used (resistance temperature detector or RTD), the electric... 

In the category of electronic thermometers, the thermocouples (TCs), resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), thermistors, integrated circuitry (IC), and radiation thermometers will be discussed in separate subsections. The IC and diode detectors will be discussed in connection with cryogenic thermometry. Their characteristics are shown in Figure 3.161. 

As was shown in Figure 3.159, cryogenic temperatures can be detected by integrated circuit diodes types K, T, and E thermocouples (TCs) class A and B resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) acoustic and ultrasonic thermometers germanium and carbon resistors and paramagnetic salts. As TCs and RTDs will be discussed in separate subsections, here the focus will be on the other sensors. 

The bolometer is another type of thermal detector that can offer extreme sensitivity for specialized applications, t This is essentially a resistance thermometer, usually with a platinum, nickel, carbon, or germanium element, although a semiconductor thermistor can also be used. Typically, two elements are used in a bridge circuit with one exposed to radiation and the other kept dark as a reference. The germanium bolometer provides exceptional... 

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