title: Noise characteristics of thermistors: Measurement methods and results of selected devices.
abstract: As part of the development of a spectrally uniform room-temperature absolute radiometer, we have studied the electrical noise of several bulk chip thermistors in order to estimate the noise floor and optical dynamic range. Understanding the fundamental limits of the temperature sensitivity leads inevitably to studying the noise background of the complex electro-thermal system. To this end, we employ a measurement technique based on alternating current synchronous demodulation. Results of our analysis show that the combination of a low-current noise Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) preamplifier together with chip thermistors is optimal for our purpose, yielding a root mean square noise temperature of 2.8 μK in the frequency range of 0.01 Hz to 1 Hz.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ryger
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, Colorado 80303-7814, USA.
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harber
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.identifier: 0000000160892635
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.identifier: 0000000283139045
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tomlin
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spidell
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lehman