A Low-Cost Temperature-Controlled Chamber Fabricated for Materials Testing

Abstract

This paper presents a low-cost temperature-controlled chamber based on the natural radiation principle. The temperature-controlled chamber assembled using a 1.0 mm thick aluminum sheet equipped with expanded polystyrene lagging material, temperature controller, K-type thermocouple and solid-state relay. A high precision temperature sensor (K-type thermocouple) attached to the sample under test (SUT) near the instrument’s measuring point gives a feedback signal to the temperature integrated derivative (TID) controller. The accuracy of temperature readings from the chamber investigated and the chamber itself, calibrated with temperature sensor by Fluke, show temperature readings that correspond to the set temperature values. In addition, perovskite thin film deposited on a glass substrate of 75 × 25 mm was tested and the temperature readings equally correspond to the temperature set values. This low-cost and low-energy-consumption chamber could use in laboratories in the developing world where there is scarce power supply.