Non Destructive Thermometry by Means of Microwave Radiometry

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe measurement of the thermal noise transmitted by lossy materials in the microwave frequency range is, at the present time, the only one thermometric method able to bring information about the temperature distribution inside a material without insertion of any sensor. In this paper, we first briefly recall the principles of the method, and the present state of the experimental set-ups. This technique interest quite different domains of applications such as industrial thermometry, biomedicai engineering, domotics and microelectronics. In other words, the presentation is related to different situations:∼ material at uniform or non uniform temperatures∼ temperatures over or beneath the room, or reference temperature∼ different materials: high or low losses, homogeneous, multilayered or heterogeneous∼ measurement of a thermal noise temperature or of a correlation temperature.The paper analyses also the reasons why these method have not still much penetrated the industrial market and explains the arguments for a future extension of these kinds of applications.