Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Electrical thermography with centimeter-scale fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing

Published inOptics continuum, vol. 5, no. 10, 3223
Publication date2026-10-15
First online date2026-09-18
Abstract

We present a thermography method for electronic circuits using a Raman-based distributed temperature sensor (RDTS) with centimetre-scale spatial resolution. Temperature is measured via optical time-domain reflectometry of Raman signals backscattered from a single-mode optical fiber routed across a custom printed circuit board (PCB) and detected by superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). This approach enables two-dimensional thermal mapping of the PCB under multiple heating configurations, simulated via 1 cm 2 resistive elements. Electrically induced temperature variations are first investigated and interpreted in terms of PCB thermal resistance, which decreases from 32 K W −1 at room temperature to 4.1 K W −1 at 77 K, with the substantial reduction at cryogenic temperatures attributed to enhanced convective heat transfer in liquid nitrogen. By developing a spatial calibration procedure to reconstruct thermograms from distributed temperature profiles, we demonstrate thermography from room temperature down to 77 K across the PCB area. A spatial resolution of 3.6 cm and a temperature accuracy of 2 °C are achieved with a 5-minute integration time. These results establish centimetre-scale RDTS as a robust tool for wide-field, spatially resolved thermography of electronic circuits, particularly in scenarios where infrared imaging is challenging, such as at low temperatures or within volumetric electronic architectures.

UNIGE research groups
Funding
  • State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation [UeM019-3]
Citation (ISO format)
COCHET, Victor et al. Electrical thermography with centimeter-scale fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing. In: Optics continuum, 2026, vol. 5, n° 10, p. 3223. doi: 10.1364/OPTCON.611333
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Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Journal ISSN2770-0208
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