Epoxy encapsulation of the Cernox™ SD thermometer for measuring the temperature of surfaces in liquid helium

We describe a procedure to pot a Cernox™ thermometer with the SD package in Stycast epoxy. The potting adapts the thermometer for measuring the temperature of a surface immersed in liquid helium (LHe) and other cryogens. The technique thermally insulates the sensor chip from the cryogen while preserving the surface mounting capability of the SD package. The potting introduced <1% shift in the resistance, <0.5% shift in the calibration at 4.2 K and 77 K, and provided repeatable measurements during thermal cycles between room temperature and 4.2 K.