Thermometry and radiometry

Part of our Metrology Research Centre, the thermometry and radiometry team is responsible for realizing the scales of temperature and humidity, which play a critical role in many scientific and industrial processes, across sectors, including transportation, health and manufacturing. An important area of focus for the team is research and development in quantum thermometry and radiometry sensors.

Our expertise

The thermometry and radiometry team's R&D efforts focus on the accurate metrological characterization of new sensors and devices using quantum effects in the field of thermometry (ring-resonator thermometer, Coulomb blockade thermometer and quantum correlation thermometer) and radiometry (single-photon sources, entangled photon sources and photon-number-resolving detectors).

The thermometry and radiometry team also performs research on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90), on direct realization of thermodynamic temperature and their relationship.

Our latest research

Under cross-government quantum initiatives, the thermometry and radiometry team is working with the Government of Canada and external partners to develop new atomic device-based radiometric sensors and an entanglement-based quantum network testbed for Canadian quantum photonics standards.

Calibration laboratories

Laboratories within thermometry and radiometry:

ITS-90 fixed-point calibration lab (realization and dissemination of the ITS-90 with fixed point cells and long-stem standard platinum resistance thermometers)
ITS-90 cryogenic fixed-point lab (realization and dissemination of the ITS-90 at low temperatures with fixed point cells and capsule standard platinum resistance thermometers)
ITS-90 fixed-point and photonic thermometry research lab (research on ITS-90 and photonic thermometry)
ITS-90 comparison lab for industrial thermometers and dissemination of the ITS-90
Primary thermometry lab (acoustic gas thermometry and refractive index gas thermometry), which does research on thermodynamic temperature scale
Non-contact thermometry lab and variable-temperature blackbody calibration labs
Humidity calibration lab
Cryogenic electrical substitution radiometer lab (primary realization of the optical power scale)
Spectral responsivity calibration lab (dissemination of the optical power scale)
Several photonics labs (quantum radiometry and photonics research)