Matched sensors

A group of matched sensors must be ordered along with a single reference sensor. This sensor must be calibrated to give the other matched sensors their specified accuracies.

The sensors are all matched at liquid nitrogen temperatures, so they will be most accurate at temperatures around 77 K. For temperatures above 77 K, the group of sensors will gradually diverge from the calibrated reference sensor as platinum sensors are quite consistent above LN2 temperatures. Below LN2 temperatures, platinum sensors become much less predictable, making it difficult to predict matched sensor performance very far below 77 K.

Downloading the calibration data

Use the serial number from the single sensor with the 14L calibration to download the calibration data from https://cal.lakeshore.com. The remaining 29 sensors will not be in the calibration database, as they were not calibrated.

This calibration data contains the temperature vs resistance curve that should be used for all 30 sensors. It can be loaded easily onto Lake Shore instruments (such as Lake Shore 240 Series modules) using instrument software.

Ordering

Lake Shore allows up to 50 sensors to be matched to a single reference sensor. This reference sensor must be calibrated and have the matched designator (-LN) added to the part number. The remaining matched sensors should use the uncalibrated part number with the matched designator (-LN) added.

Example:

Ordering 30 matched PT-103-AM sensors:

PartQuantityExplanation
PT-103-AM-14L-LN1This is the single reference sensor1. It is calibrated2 from 14 K to 325 K
PT-103-AM-LN29The remaining uncalibrated sensors that are matched to the reference sensor

1Orders that do not include a reference sensor as shown in the above example will not be accepted.
2It is also possible to order a SoftCal sensor as the reference sensor. The resulting accuracy of the matched sensors will widen to 0.35 K.

Will deliver:

30 matched sensors

All sensors are accurate to within 0.125 K at LN2 temperatures

Temperature probesAsk us about using these sensors with Lake Shore temperature probes. These sensors would be ideal for monitoring liquid nitrogen piping.