Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

The working group is operating the gold fixed-point blackbody radiator as primary standard for the realisation and dissemination of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) above 800 °C. Besides the measurement of the temperature according the ITS-90 the working group performs measurements and further developments in the area of radiometric determination of the thermodynamic temperatures applying absolutely calibrated filter radiometers above 800 °C. For accurate determination of the area of radiometric apertures contactless measurement methods are applied. One research focus is the development and the characterisation of innovative high-temperature fixed-points based on metal-carbon eutectic alloys. The aim of this research is an improvement of the realisation and dissemination of the International Temperature Scale above 1085 °C. Further fields of work are the realization and dissemination of the spectral radiance and the radiometric traceability of fluorometry.