Output dynamic range of radiometers based on thermoresistive sensors

Abstract

Thermo-resistive sensors are widely used in metrology and instrumentation systems. In the case of radiometers used in measurement of solar radiation, the classical architecture uses the principle of electrical equivalence in which the electrical sensor is kept at a constant temperature. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of environmental temperature variation according to the dynamic output voltage of this type of radiometer. In addition, it was evaluated the output dynamic voltage for a constant temperature difference between the sensor and the environment. The sensors used were NTC and PTC, with analog voltage and pulse width outputs.