Correcting lifetime measurements for temperature

Typical pressure sensitive paint (PSP) methods use intensity measurements to predict the pressure. Unfortunately, there are a number of difficulties that arise when using intensity measurements, such as: uneven illumination conditions, photodegradation, inhomogeneous paint coatings, and thickness effects. On the other hand, lifetime measurements are free of these problems. In addition, lifetime methods may be able to eliminate the troublesome 'wind-off condition by using the internal reference tau(vac) (the vacuum lifetime of the sensor). However, both methods require correction due to the temperature dependence of the paint. We propose a method of correcting lifetime measurements for temperature. A non-oxygen quenched, temperature-dependent phosphor is added to the standard UW paint. The temperature is determined from the lifetime of the phosphor. Then, using the lifetime of PtTFPP and the temperature-selected pressure calibration curve, the pressure can be calculated more accurately. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.