Monochromator-Based Absolute Calibration of Radiation Thermometers

A monochromator integrating-sphere-based spectral comparator facility has been developed to calibrate standard radiation thermometers in terms of the absolute spectral radiance responsivity, traceable to the PTB cryogenic radiometer. The absolute responsivity calibration has been improved using a 75 W xenon lamp with a reflective mirror and imaging optics to a relative standard uncertainty at the peak wavelength of approximately 0.17 % ( k = 1). Via a relative measurement of the out-of-band responsivity, the spectral responsivity of radiation thermometers can be fully characterized. To verify the calibration accuracy, the absolutely calibrated radiation thermometer is used to measure Au and Cu freezing-point temperatures and then to compare the obtained results with the values obtained by absolute methods, resulting in T − T 90 values of +52 mK and −50 mK for the gold and copper fixed points, respectively.