Silicon radiometry compared with the Australian radiometric scale.

Area of Science:

• Metrology
• Optical Physics
• Semiconductor Devices

Background:

• Accurate radiometric power measurements are crucial for scientific and industrial applications.
• Electrical substitution radiometry (ESR) forms the basis of national radiometric scales.
• Silicon photodiodes are potential candidates for primary radiometric standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare absolute radiometric power measurements using silicon photodiodes with established ESR scales.
• To evaluate the performance of inversion layer silicon photodiodes for metrology.
• To determine the agreement between photodiode measurements and ESR across various laser wavelengths.

Main Methods:

• Utilized inversion layer silicon photodiodes without front-surface electrodes.
• Performed direct comparisons of radiometric power measurements between photodiodes and ESR.
• Conducted measurements using four different laser wavelengths (458 nm, 514 nm, 532 nm, 633 nm).

Main Results:

• Achieved agreement at the 0.1% level between silicon photodiode measurements and ESR.
• Demonstrated consistent results across the tested laser wavelengths.
• Validated the accuracy of the employed inversion layer photodiode technology.

Conclusions:

• Silicon photodiodes provide a viable and accurate alternative for radiometric power measurements.
• The results support the use of these photodiodes for establishing and disseminating radiometric scales.
• The 0.1% agreement signifies high precision in optical power metrology.