Optical temperature measurements of silicon microbridge emitters

Microbridges are miniature suspended structures fabricated in silicon. Passing a current through the microbridge can heat it up to the point of incandescence. A glowing microbridge can be used as a wideband light source. This study presents a method for optical measurement of the temperature of a microbridge. Spectroscopic measurements of microbridges are optically challenging, because the multilayer structures cause interference effects. To determine the temperature from the emitted spectrum, the emissivity was modeled with thin-film Fresnel equations. Temperatures of 500-1100 degrees C were obtained from the measured spectra at different levels of applied power. The range is limited by the sensitivity of the detectors at lower power levels and by the stability of the bridge at higher levels. Results of the optical measurements were compared with contact temperature measurements made with a microthermocouple in the same temperature range. The results of the two methods agree within 100 K.