Paper BI+MI-WeM11
Non-invasive Thermal Sensing using Thermographic Phosphors

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 11:20 am, Room 101A

F. Sabri¹, S. W. Allison², and P. Parajuli¹

1. University of Memphis, Department of Physics and Materials Science

2. Emerging Measurements Co.

Thermal measurements involving thermographic phosphors, whether in the form of powder, crystal, or glass, continues to be of interest for a wide range of applications and temperature ranges. The investigation of phosphor-doped polymer films is a promising avenue for thermometry applications. Phosphor thermometry has been investigated recently for non invasive thermal assessment of biological and biomedical surfaces. For thermographic phosphors to be useful for biomedical applications they must first be encapsulated in a biocompatible, biostable, and transparent “host” that would allow optical access to the embedded phosphors. The work here demonstrates the feasibility of thin film thermographic phosphor-based thermometry where La₂O₂S:Eu particles have been embedded in a clear silicone encapsulant at different concentrations. The composite materials were prepared by means of spin-coating technology and the effect of spin speed and spin time on the thickness and distribution of the powder was investigated. . In order to improve the thermal conductivity of the composite material, a layer of carbon has been incorporated into the multilayer structure. The results presented will compare the excitation-emission behavior of the composite materials mentioned above with the properties of pure powder, at various temperatures. The effect of the tensile properties of the composite material on the excitation/ emission behavior of the materials will also be discussed. Measurements were conducted at low temperatures and at elevated temperatures and the decay characteristics were investigated as a function of temperature.