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Advanced Sensing Technologies in Thermal Measurements
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Advanced Sensing Technologies in Thermal Measurements

A Special Issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220) belonging to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2027 | Viewed by 1306

Editors

Prof. Dr. Gianluca Rossi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Interests: measurement systems; metrology; thermoelasticity; vibration measurement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lorenzo Capponi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: signal and digital image processing; experimental methods; thermoelasticity; metrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal sensing is becoming increasingly essential for addressing engineering challenges across sectors such as energy systems, manufacturing, structural health monitoring, and biomedical applications. Advances in infrared detectors, high-resolution thermal cameras, and embedded sensing platforms now enable more accurate and reliable measurements under demanding real-world conditions. At the same time, progress in signal processing, machine learning, and calibration techniques is transforming raw thermal data into actionable insights for diagnostics, control, and predictive maintenance.

With this Special Issue, we aim to present research that pushes the state of the art in sensor design, measurement methodologies, and application-driven solutions that harness thermal information. By connecting emerging sensing technologies with practical engineering needs, it aims to demonstrate how thermal measurements can enhance safety, efficiency, and informed decision-making. This topic aligns strongly with the scope of Sensors, highlighting innovations in sensing devices, measurement systems, and data analysis techniques to extract meaningful knowledge from thermal signals.

Prof. Dr. Gianluca Rossi
Dr. Lorenzo Capponi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • thermal imaging sensors
  • infrared thermography
  • smart infrared sensing systems
  • thermal data processing and analysis
  • calibration and uncertainty reduction
  • real-time thermal monitoring
  • predictive maintenance and diagnostics
  • applications in energy, manufacturing, and biomedical fields

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3169 KB  
Article
Numerical Analysis and Design of Active Waveguide Bragg Gratings for High-Contrast Thermal Sensing and Tunable Linear Thermal Gradient Threshold Detection
by Ángel Sanz-Felipe and Juan Antonio Vallés
Sensors 2026, 26(17), 5495; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26175495 - 30 Aug 2026
Viewed by 210
Abstract
Active waveguide Bragg gratings (AWBGs) combine the narrowband reflectivity of Bragg gratings with the optical gain of rare-earth-doped media, representing a versatile platform for monolithic lasers and amplifying reflectors. The lasing regime in these photonic structures is governed by specific design and pumping [...] Read more.
Active waveguide Bragg gratings (AWBGs) combine the narrowband reflectivity of Bragg gratings with the optical gain of rare-earth-doped media, representing a versatile platform for monolithic lasers and amplifying reflectors. The lasing regime in these photonic structures is governed by specific design and pumping parameters, exhibiting critical thresholds below which laser emission is suppressed. This work separately explores the potential of AWBGs as high-contrast thermal sensors and threshold-triggering switches. The AWBG thermal response is numerically analyzed by means of the Transfer Matrix Method. Under uniform heating, the Bragg wavelength shift shows sensitivities of 12 pm/°C. The resulting laser peak, with only 1 nm bandwidth and several orders of magnitude above the noise floor, significantly improves the peak-to-background contrast of equivalent passive designs. Furthermore, the impact of linear longitudinal thermal gradients is evaluated. The thermal chirp induced reduces the grating’s efficiency, potentially quenching the laser emission if the system is biased near its operating threshold. Our numerical results indicate that AWBGs can function as threshold-triggering thermal gradient detectors where the detection threshold can be adequately chosen at the design stage for a detection range up to approximately 12 °C/mm, and selectively tuned through pump power regulation once fabricated. These findings, obtained under the numerical approximations considered, position AWBGs as a promising solution for advanced thermal monitoring and optical safeguarding applications, pending experimental validation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Sensing Technologies in Thermal Measurements)
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12 pages, 6732 KB  
Article
In Situ Cold-Junction Compensation Strategy for Semiconductor Thin-Film Thermocouples Based on a Pt Thin-Film Resistance Temperature Detector
by Yuelong Li, Lantian Tang, Zhixuan Su, Yi Xu, Xianwei Qian, Yifan Wang, Qinnan Chen and Chao Wu
Sensors 2026, 26(14), 4337; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26144337 - 8 Jul 2026
Viewed by 561
Abstract
Semiconductor thin-film thermocouples offer significant advantages for in situ temperature monitoring in advanced engineering equipment. However, the absence of a reliable cold-junction temperature compensation methodology has constrained their practical deployment. This study proposes an in situ cold-junction compensation strategy based on a Pt [...] Read more.
Semiconductor thin-film thermocouples offer significant advantages for in situ temperature monitoring in advanced engineering equipment. However, the absence of a reliable cold-junction temperature compensation methodology has constrained their practical deployment. This study proposes an in situ cold-junction compensation strategy based on a Pt thin-film resistance temperature detector (RTD), wherein the Pt thin-film RTD is conformally integrated with an ITO–In2O3 thin-film thermocouple via sputtering and printing processes, enabling precise acquisition of cold-junction temperature without external temperature control apparatus. The fabricated Pt thin-film RTD exhibits a coefficient of determination of 0.99995 over the temperature range from ambient to 300 °C, with a temperature coefficient of resistance of 3810.09 ppm/°C, a maximum fitting error of merely 1.02 °C, repeatability precision superior to 1.46 °C, temperature resolution better than 0.2 °C, and a long-term drift rate as low as 0.006%/h. Under simulated practical operating scenarios, the RTD demonstrates superior thermal tracking performance relative to surface-mounted thermocouples. Conformal device fabrication is further realized on the curved surface of a turbine blade, where the RTD maintains characteristics consistent with those on planar substrates, and effective compensation up to 124 °C is achieved in butane flame thermal shock experiments. This strategy overcomes the limitation of conventional compensation methods to planar substrates, furnishing a reliable solution for high-precision in situ temperature monitoring on curved structures of hot-section components via semiconductor thin-film thermocouples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Sensing Technologies in Thermal Measurements)
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