Thermal property probe

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10718673-B2
Application number	US-201715828843-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2017
Priority date	Dec 1, 2016
Publication date	Jul 21, 2020
Grant date	Jul 21, 2020

Abstract

A fiber-based thermal property probe is disclosed. In embodiments, the thermal property probe is a modulated optical reflectance system and includes a pump beam source configured to transmit a pump beam through a pump fiber, the pump beam configured to heat a sample and the pump fiber having a pump fiber sample end. The fiber-based thermal property probe further includes a probe beam source configured to transmit a probe beam through a probe fiber, the probe beam configured to measure the temperature of the sample and the probe fiber having a probe fiber sample end. Additionally, the system includes a ferrule configured to hold the pump fiber sample end and the probe fiber sample end at a fixed, known separation distance from each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fiber-based thermal property probe, comprising:
a pump beam source that is configured to transmit a pump beam through a pump fiber, the pump beam being configured to heat a sample at its surface and the pump fiber having a pump fiber sample end;
a probe beam source that is configured to transmit a probe beam through a probe fiber, the probe beam being configured to measure the temperature of the sample surface and the probe fiber having a probe fiber sample end;
a ferrule configured to hold the pump and the probe fiber sample ends at a fixed, known separation distance from each other;
wherein the pump beam and the probe beam, when incident on the sample surface, create a heat path distance at the sample surface that is the distance between the pump beam and the probe beam, when incident on the sample surface.

2. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the pump beam source is configured to modulate the pump beam and the probe beam source is configured to provide the probe beam continuously.

3. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the pump and the probe sample ends are angled to point towards each other such that the heat path distance is less than a center-to-center distance between the pump and the probe fibers.

4. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the pump and the probe fiber is removed at the pump and the probe fiber sample ends such that the heat path distance is less than a center-to-center distance between the pump and the probe fibers.

5. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the thermal property probe is a modulated optical reflectance system.

6. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the probe fiber measures the temperature of the sample through optical fluorescence.

7. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the probe fiber measures the temperature of the sample through Raman spectroscopy techniques.

8. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the probe fiber measures the temperature of the sample by measuring a change in the sample's surface properties.

9. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein the ferrule, when in contact with the sample surface, forms a gap between the sample surface and the pump and the probe fiber sample ends.

10. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 9 , further comprising a focusing lens placed between the pump and the probe fiber sample ends and the sample surface and configured to reduce the heat path distance that is less than a center-to-center distance between the pump and probe fibers at the pump and the probe fiber sample ends.

11. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 1 , wherein:
the pump fiber is a first fiber;
the probe fiber is a second fiber;
the fiber-based thermal property probe comprises a third fiber;
the first, second, and third fibers are fixed in the ferrule;
the first, second, and third fibers are each configured to transmit either the pump beam or the probe beam to the sample surface, the pump or the probe beam transmitted through the first fiber is the first beam, the pump or probe beam transmitted through the second fiber is the second beam; and the pump or the probe beam transmitted through the third fiber is the third beam;
the distance between the first beam and the second beam, when incident on the sample surface, is a first heat path distance at the sample surface that is the distance between the first beam and the second beam, when incident on the sample surface, and one of the first beam or the second beam is the pump beam and the other of the first beam or the second beam is the probe beam;
the distance between the second beam and the third beam, when incident on the sample surface, is a second heat path distance at the sample surface that is the distance between the second beam and the third beam, when incident on the sample surface; and one of the second beam or the third beam is the pump beam and the other of the second beam or the third beam is the probe beam;
the distance between first beam and the third beam, when incident on the sample surface is a third heat path distance at the sample surface that is the distance between the first beam and the third beam, when incident on the sample surface, and one of the first beam or the third beam is the pump beam and the other of the first beam or the third beam is the probe beam; and
each of the first, second, and third heat path distances are fixed and known.

12. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 11 , wherein:
the first, second, and third fibers are arranged linearly in the ferrule such that the third heat path distance is roughly twice the distance of the first or the second heat path distances.

13. The fiber-based thermal property probe of claim 11 , wherein the ferrule is configured to rotate a rotation distance during operation of the fiber-based thermal property probe such that it is configured to measure thermal properties of the sample as a function of the sample's angular orientation relative to the first, second, and third fiber locations.

14. A fiber-based thermal property probe, comprising:
four or more fibers having fiber ends, the fiber ends bundled in a ferrule, the ferrule being configured to hold each of the four or more fiber ends at fixed, known separation distances from each other;
a pump beam source configured to transmit a pump beam through any of the four or more fibers to heat a sample at its surface;
a probe beam source configured to transmit a probe beam through any of the four or more fibers to measure the temperature of the sample surface;
wherein:
the pump and the probe beams transmitted through any of the four or more fibers create heat path distances at the sample surface that are the distances between the respective pump beam and the probe beam, when incident on the sample surface and the pump beam and the probe beam are transmitted through any one of the four or more fibers.

15. A method for providing a fiber-based thermal-property probe, the method comprising:
providing a pump beam source configured to transmit a pump beam through a pump fiber, the pump beam configured to heat a sample at its surface and the pump fiber having a pump fiber sample end;
providing a probe beam source configured to transmit a probe beam through a probe fiber, the probe beam configured to measure the temperature of the sample surface and the probe fiber having a probe fiber sample end;
providing a ferrule configured to hold the pump and the probe fiber sample ends at a fixed, known separation distance from each other;
wherein the pump beam and the probe beam, when incident on the sample surface, create a heat path distance at the sample surface that is the distance between the pump beam and the probe beam, when incident on the sample surface.

Assignees

• Fleming Austin
• Folsom Charles
• Jensen Colby
• Ban Heng
• Univ Utah State

Inventors

• Fleming Austin
• Folsom Charles
• Jensen Colby
• Ban Heng

Classifications

• G01N25/18 Primary

  by investigating thermal conductivity (by calorimetry G01N25/20; by measuring change of resistance of an electrically-heated body G01N27/18) · CPC title

• G01K11/3206

  at discrete locations in the fibre, e.g. using Bragg scattering · CPC title

• G01K11/125

  using changes in reflectance · CPC title

• G01K11/32 Primary

  using changes in transmittance, scattering or luminescence in optical fibres · CPC title