Work

Compact blackbody-radiation atomic sensor: Measuring temperature using optically excited atoms in vapor cells

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We demonstrate a blackbody-radiation thermometer based on optically excited rubidium atoms in a vapor cell. The temperature measurement is fast, with statistical uncertainty as low as 0.1% in one second. We resolve temperature with a precision of 0.04% in the range 308--344 K when averaging for several seconds. Additionally, we describe an extension to this measurement scheme where the device operates as a self-calibrated, or primary, thermometer. We make progress toward realizing a primary thermometer by demonstrating a temperature-dependent self-consistent calibration scheme, with temperature accuracy of the order of 1% limited by the uncertainty in atomic transition dipole matrix elements.

Source: Physical Review Applied

DOI: 10.1103/physrevapplied.23.044037

Authors: David S. La Mantia, Mingxin Lei, Nikunjkumar Prajapati, Noah Schlossberger, Matthew T. Simons, Christopher L. Holloway, Julia Scherschligt, Stephen P. Eckel, Eric B. Norrgard

Institutions: National Institute of Standards and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park

Language: English

Topic: Calibration and Measurement Techniques

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: U.S. Department of Defense, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

OpenAlex ID: W4409527712

FWCI: 1.551

Cites: 22

Cited by: 4

Related to: 10