Thermophysical Parameters Evaluation by Pyroelectric Detection

The different configurations of the photopyroelectric calorimetry which can be adopted for the evaluations of the thermophysical parameters in liquids and in solids, and the advantages, with respect to other calorimetric techniques, are briefly described. A review of the recent results obtained by the photopyroelectric back-detection configuration for the determination of the different thermophysical properties in various materials is presented with particular attention to the cases where the temperature dependence of such parameters is studied. The results concerning the studies carried out by performing simultaneous calorimetric and imaging evaluations are also described. Finally, the possibility of performing “absolute” measurements of the thermal parameters, eliminating the influence of eventual coupling fluid, is discussed.