Application of the pulsed photothermal effect to fast surface temperature measurements

It is well known that the accuracy of surface temperature measurements by optical means is limited because of the uncertainties that are associated with the emissivity and the reflected fluxes. The application of the photothermal effect produced by a chopped laser beam for surface temperature measurements has proved to be a valuable tool to avoid the errors that are due to the reflected fluxes. In this paper we show that a pulsed laser may also be used for the same purpose. Since the measurement is quite rapid, this technique allows measurements to be made on moving surfaces. We present a careful analysis of the role of the experimental parameters and also give typical results.