Measurement of full-field temperature distributions by using surface plasmon resonance and common-path phase-shifting interferometry

This study proposes a simple method for measuring the full-field temperature distributions. Using the significant phase difference between p- and s-polarizations of the reflected light of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detector, the variation in the phase difference, which is caused by a variation in the temperature, can be accurately measured using common-path phase-shifting interferometry. By substituting the phase distribution into the relevant equation, the temperature distribution can then be determined. To demonstrate the feasibility of this method, various temperature distributions were measured. The measurement resolution was approximately 0.186 °C. Because of the introduced common-path configuration and the high-sensitivity characteristics of surface plasmon resonance, this method is easy to operate, highly sensitive, highly accurate, and provides rapid measurements.