Low-Temperature Blackbodies for Temperature Range from −60 °C to 90 °C

Low-temperature cavity-type blackbodies (BB), VTBB and BB100K1, are developed at VNIIOFI for operation as IR radiation sources of the Middle Background Calibration Facility in the temperature range from −60 °C to 90 °C, which is being constructed by KRISS for calibration of multi-spectral cameras for space applications. The VTBB model, featured by a 30 mm output aperture and hermetic housing and flange for mounting to a vacuum chamber, covers the complete temperature range under a vacuum environment (up to 10−2 Pa), and the temperature range from 20 °C to 90 °C under open air conditions. BB100K1 has a wide aperture of 100 mm diameter, which shows stable operation in the temperature range from −60 °C to 90 °C inside a vacuum chamber, and in the temperature range from −40 °C to 90 °C in a dry-air or inert-gas environment with the usage of an extra hood with an aperture. The effective emissivity of the radiating cavities of both BB, covered with Lord Aeroglaze Z306 black paint, was calculated with the usage of STEEP3 Monte-Carlo simulation software, taking the measured temperature gradients into account. The numerical calculations yield an emissivity of at least 0.9997 for the VTBB cavity, and 0.997 for the BB100K1 cavity. The radiating cavity temperature of VTBB and BB100K1 is stabilized at the level of ±0.01 °C by means of an external precise closed-loop liquid thermostat (Huber Unistat 705 model). The temperature distribution along the radiating cavities and across the BB bottoms is monitored by five precision PRT thermometers and a digital multimeter equipped with a scanner card. Experimental tests using a thermal camera at KRISS demonstrated high-temperature uniformity of both radiation sources not exceeding ±50 mK over the entire temperature range, in vacuum as in a dry-air environment. The combined standard uncertainty of VTBB and BB100K1 temperature measurements accounts for about 40 mK within the range of their working temperatures.