Thermally Compensated Dual-Probe Fluorescence Decay Rate Temperature Sensor and Method of Use
First Claim
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1. A method for determining the surface temperature of a sample, the method comprising:
- positioning a fiberoptic temperature sensor in proximity to a sample, the fiberoptic temperature sensor comprising a first probe having a first phosphor tip offset from a second probe having a second phosphor tip by a fixed separation distance, such that the first phosphor tip is at a first distance from the sample and the second phosphor is at a second distance from the sample which is equal to the first distance plus the fixed separation distance;
heating each of the probe tips to the same plurality of temperature levels by subjecting the phosphor tips to a plurality of predetermined laser power levels with the probe tips positioned in proximity to the sample surface;
measuring the temperature of each of the phosphor tips substantially simultaneously at each of the plurality of laser power levels with the tips positioned in proximity to the sample surface;
calculating the difference between the measured temperatures of the first phosphor tip and the measured temperatures of the second phosphor tip for each of the plurality of laser power levels; and
determining the surface temperature of the sample to be the temperature of the phosphor tip when the difference between the measured temperature of the first phosphor tip and the measured temperature of the second phosphor tip is substantially equal to zero.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a dual-probe thermally compensated fluorescence decay rate temperature sensor capable of measuring the true temperature of a sample surface and its associated method of use.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for determining the surface temperature of a sample, the method comprising:
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positioning a fiberoptic temperature sensor in proximity to a sample, the fiberoptic temperature sensor comprising a first probe having a first phosphor tip offset from a second probe having a second phosphor tip by a fixed separation distance, such that the first phosphor tip is at a first distance from the sample and the second phosphor is at a second distance from the sample which is equal to the first distance plus the fixed separation distance; heating each of the probe tips to the same plurality of temperature levels by subjecting the phosphor tips to a plurality of predetermined laser power levels with the probe tips positioned in proximity to the sample surface; measuring the temperature of each of the phosphor tips substantially simultaneously at each of the plurality of laser power levels with the tips positioned in proximity to the sample surface; calculating the difference between the measured temperatures of the first phosphor tip and the measured temperatures of the second phosphor tip for each of the plurality of laser power levels; and determining the surface temperature of the sample to be the temperature of the phosphor tip when the difference between the measured temperature of the first phosphor tip and the measured temperature of the second phosphor tip is substantially equal to zero. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for measuring a sample surface temperature, the system comprising:
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a dual-probe sensor having two probes, each of the probes having a phosphor tip and each of the phosphor tips offset from the other by a fixed separation distance; two fiber optic patch cables, each of the fiber optic patch cables in communication with a corresponding one of each of the two probes; at least one excitation source to provide a modulated light source; at least one heating laser positioned to provide a plurality of predetermined heating laser power levels to each of the phosphor tips through each of the fiber optic cables to cause the phosphor tips to heat to a plurality of temperature levels; a beam combiner to receive the optical signals from the excitation source and the heating laser and to output a combined signal; a beam splitter to receive the combined signal from the beam combiner and to split the combined signal between a corresponding one of the two fiber optic patch cables; a first detector and a second detector in communication with a corresponding one of the two optical fibers, the detectors to monitor the fluorescence emitted by the phosphor tips; and a controller processor in communication with the first detector and the second detector, the controller processor to analyze the detected signals from the detectors and to correlate the fluorescence emitted by the each of the phosphor tips to the temperature level at each of the fiberoptic temperature sensor phosphor tips. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification