Abstract
Since the last International Temperature Symposium, phosphor thermometry has continued to mature with considerable attention given to combustion and turbine engine applications. More recently the utility to problems on the micro- and nano-scales has appreciated, particularly in regard to biological and biomedical situations. The method is therefore used for a wide range of situations. Signal interpretation is important and experience teaches that without sufficient care phosphor signals can be misleading. In order to advance the method, signal analysis investigations should prove fruitful. The specific aspect addressed here is the question of waveform sampling. A simple phenomenological approach is described that explores how the number of points digitized per waveform affects the measurement repeatability and accuracy. This is demonstrated for single shot signals and the average of 512 sequential waveforms. A bright temperature-independent luminescence signal from YVO4:Eu is sampled every 800 ps for a highly sampled condition and every 8 microseconds for a low sampled condition. When the average of 512 waveforms are compared for the two sampling conditions, they differ by only 0.4%. For the highly sampled case, a noisy single shot waveform compared to the averaged waveform differed by 1.8%. Future efforts on this subject will address intermediate and lower sampling rates. Also, variable window techniques should be explored that are especially important for non-log-linear signals. Investigations, such as this, give the developer the requisite information for designing analysis systems appropriate for the intended application in terms of precision, accuracy, and response time.