Semiconductor thermocouples

 Semiconductors have highest Seebeck

coefficients
 Typical values are about 1mV/°C
 Junctions between n or p type
semiconductors with a metal (aluminum) are
most common
 Smaller temperature spans than metal
thermocouples (usually –55°C to about
150°C).
 Some semiconductors - up to 225°C
 Newer devices - up to about 800°C
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 Semiconductor thermocouples:
operation
 Doping
 Add impurities - various materials
 Increases availability of electrons (n-type) or holes (p-type)
 Increases the Seebeck coefficient
 Silicon has 4 valent electrons
 Add impurity with 5 electrons to create n type silicon
 Add impurity with 3 electrons to create p type silicon
 P type silicon junction (on aluminum)
 Aluminum is deposited on an intrinsic layer of silicon
 The silicon is doped with materials from the IIIrd group in the periodic table
 materials such as Boron (B), Aluminum (Al), Galium (Ga), Indium (In) and Thalium (Tl)
 N type silicon junction (on aluminum)
 The silicon is doped with materials from the Vth group in the periodic table
 materials such as Phosphorus (P), Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb) and Bismuth (Bi)

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Periodic table - semiconductors

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 Thermopile
 n thermocouples in series electrically
 In parallel thermally
 Output is n times the output of a single
thermocouple
 Used to increase output
 Sometimes done with metal
thermocouples
 Example: pilot flame detector: 750 mV
at temperature difference of about
120°C about 100 metal thermocouples

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 Semiconductor thermopiles
 Each thermocouple has higher output than metal
based devices
 A few thermocouples in series can produce relatively
high voltages
 Used to produce thermoelectric generators.
 Outputs upwards of 15V are available
 Known as Peltier cells

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 Peltier cells
 Made of crystalline semiconductor materials such as bismuth telluride
(Bi2Te3) (n-p junctions)
 Peltier Cells are often used for cooling and heating in dual purpose
refrigerators/heaters,
 Can also be used as sensors and can have output voltages of a few
volts (any voltage can be achieved)
 Also used as power generators for small remote installations
 Junctions are sandwiched between two ceramic plates
 Standard sizes are 15, 31, 63, 127 and 255 junctions
 May be connected in series or parallel, electrically and/or thermally.
 Maximum temperature difference of about 100°C
 Maximum operating temperatures of about 225°C

Various TEG’s Details of the structure, edge view

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 Example
Thermopile for pilot detection in furnaces. The standard for pilot detection in furnaces is 750 mV. A thermopile
is placed so that its hot junctions are in the flame at 650ºC and the cold junctions are connected thermally to the
body of the furnace at 30ºC, how many J-type thermocouples in series are needed to provide 750 mV when the pilot
is lit?

The emf of an individual junction is calculated at 650ºC and at 30ºC. The net emf is the difference between the two:

The emf of a pair of junctions (one hot one cold) is 49.225 – 1.801 = 47.424 mV :
The number of pairs therefore is:

The pilot detector will require 32 thermocouples in series, 16 used as cold junctions, 16 as hot junctions.
Note that semiconductor thermocouples cannot be used because of the temperature range, unless special
arrangements are made (see Example 3.11)
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 P-N Junction temperature sensors
 A junction between a p- and an n-doped semiconductor
 Usually silicon (also germanium, gallium-arsenide, etc.)
 This is a simple diode PN junction, symbol, forward and reverse biasing
 Forward biased

 Forward current is temperature dependent

 Any semiconductor diode will work
 Usually the voltage across the diode is sensed
I-V characteristics of a PN junction

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 P-N junction sensor (cont.)
 Forward current through diode
 Voltage across diode
 I0 - saturation current
 Eg - band gap energy
 q - charge of electron
 k - Boltzman’s constant
 C - a temp. independent constant
 T - temperature (K)
 If C and I are constant, Vf is linear with
temperature
 Diode is an NTC device
 Sensitivity: 1-10 mV/°C (current Response of a P-N junction sensor
dependent)

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P-N junction - operation parameters
 Forward biased with a current source
 10-100µA typically (low currents - higher sensitivity)
 Maximum range (silicon) –55 to 150°C
 Accuracy: ±0.1 °C (typical)
 Self heating error: 0.5 mW/°C
 Packaging: as a diode or as a transistor (with additional
circuitry)

P-N temperature sensors

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 Other temperature sensors
 Optical
 Acoustic
 Thermomechanical sensors
 Also: thermomecahnical actuators

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 Optical temperature sensors
 Noncontact
 Conversion of optical radiation into heat
 Most useful in infrared temperature sensing
 Relies on quantum effects - discussed in the following chapter
 Other sensors rely on phase difference in propagation
 Light propagates through a silicon optical fiber
 Index of refraction is temperature sensitive
 Phase of detected light is a measure of temperature

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 Acoustical temperature sensor
 Speed of sound is
temperature dependent
 Measure the time it takes to
travel through the heated
medium
 Most sensors use ultrasonic
sensors (for this purpose).

Two ways of sensing temperature of a substance using ultrasound velocity

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 Thermo-mechanical sensors
 Changes of physical properties due to temperature
 Length
 Volume
 Pressure, etc.
 Expansion of gasses and fluids (thermometers)
 Expansion of conductors (thermometers, thermostats)
 Many have a direct reading (graduation, dials)
 Some activate switches directly (thermostats)
 Examples:

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 Thermal Expansion
The volume of a material changes with temperature as follows:

β is the coefficient of volume expansion /ºC. The volume of a material may be calculated as:

Here V0 is the volume at reference temperature T0. Identical considerations apply to linear expansion:

Here l0 is the length at reference

temperature T0 and α is the coefficient
of liner expansion.

For ideal gases under constant pressure

For ideal gases one can also use the

ideal gas law:

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Fluid expansion temperature sensors
 Example: Piston type sensor
 Rise in temperature expands the gas
 Piston pushes on a “sensor” (strain gauge, potentiometer) or even a
switch
 The sensor’s output is graduated in temperature

 Example: The Golay cell – a thermopneumatic sensor

 Gas expands in a flexible cell
 Motion moves a mirror and deflects light to a light sensor
(CCD array)
 Extremely sensitive device

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 Example
Piston type sensor. In the piston sensor below, the fluid is water. If the
volume of the fluid is 5 cm3 and the radius of the piston is 0.5 mm, calculate the
change in position of the piston if the temperature rises by 10ºC. What is the
sensitivity of this sensor?

Water has a volume expansion coefficient of 207x10-6/ºC. The change in volume is:

The displacement of the piston is the change in volume divided by the cross-sectional
area of the piston:

The piston moves 4.297 mm.

Since the expansion is linear,

sensitivity is 0.4297 mm/ºC
Sensitivity can be increased by reducing the
radius of the piston, by increasing the total
volume or by using a different fluid (alcohol)
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 Engine thermostat)

Mechanical automotive thermostat: the piston at the center moves as a wax

expands/contracts with temperature to allow more or less coolant to flow and by
doing so regulate engine temperature.

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 Thermal expansion of metals
 Coefficients of linear expansion are small (see Table 3.10)
 They are however measurable
 Can be used to directly operate a lever to indicate temperature
 Can be used to rotate a shaft
 In most cases the bimetal configuration is used
 Serve as sensors and as actuators

 Example: Metal bar expands as temperature increases

 Dial arrow moves to the left as temperature rises
 Very small motion
 The dial can be replaced by a pressure sensor or a strain gauge

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 Thermal expansion of metals
Example: Thermal micro-actuator. An actuator is made as shown in Fig.
3.26a, using chromium. Calculate the expansion of the actuator as the
temperature changes from 25ºC to 125ºC.

By direct application of Eq. 3.36 for linear expansion:

The expansion is 0.6 µm.

Can also be used as in Fig. 3.26b – upper leg heats to lower

temperature hence expands less than the lower member:

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 Bimetal sensors
 Two metal strips welded together
 Each metal strip has different coefficient of expansion
 As they expand, the two strips bend. This motion can then be used to:
 move a dial
 actuate a sensor (pressure sensor for example)
 rotate a potentiometer
 Close/open a switch

Displacement for the bar bimetal:

r - radius of curvature
T2 - sensed temperature
T1 - reference temperature (horizontal position)
t - thickness of bimetal bar

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 Bimetal sensors (cont.)
 To extend motion, the bimetal strip is bent into a coil. The dial
rotates as the coil expands/contracts
Bimetal coil from a thermometer

Structure of bimetal coil

Bimetal coils in a thermostat 22

 Bimetal switch (example)
 Typical uses: flashers in cars, thermostats
Bimetal switch
 Operation
 Left side is fixed
 Right side moves down when heated
 Cooling reverses the operation

Automotive flasher.
Small thermostats Note the heating element
on the bimetal plate

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