PTB — Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

Snapshot

Why it matters internationally

PTB is one of the very few institutions in the world whose internal structure includes a unit explicitly named “Emissivity.” That is not a semantic detail. It signals that emissivity is not merely an application variable here, but an institutionalized metrological object requiring traceable, uncertainty-controlled, SI-linked measurement. WG 7.35 covers accurate and traceable emissivity measurement from near to far infrared under air and vacuum, while the adjacent WG 7.32 ties spectral emissivity to infrared radiometry and radiation thermometry. PTB is therefore a reference institution for pyrometry, remote sensing, passive radiative cooling, and the calibration logic underlying all non-contact temperature measurement.

Scope of activity

Relevant units

• Working Group 7.35 — Emissivity — the primary task is accurate and traceable emissivity measurement for materials and surfaces from the near to the far infrared.
• Working Group 7.32 — Infrared Radiometry — lists emissivity measurement, infrared optical properties, and traceability for radiation thermometry and remote sensing as core tasks.

Radiative properties measured

Spectral emissivity · infrared radiance · radiation thermometry · reflectance · transmittance.

Capability envelope

• Temperature: emissivity measurements from about −40 °C to ~2300 °C, under air and vacuum conditions.
• Wavelength: spectral radiance from roughly 1 µm to 1 mm.
• Methodology: traceable, SI-linked emissivity measurement; uncertainty-quantified radiometric characterization.

Application domains

Non-contact thermometry / radiation thermometry · Earth and planetary remote sensing · passive radiative cooling · energy systems · radiometric calibration and standards.

IR-EMPOWER contributions

PTB contributed multiple plenary-level talks (Albert Adibekyan, David Urban, and associated work on semitransparent samples at PTB facilities). This confirms PTB’s central role in the current European emissivity network on measurement below and above 1000 K.

Why PTB is a reference pole

In many laboratories emissivity is measured because it is needed for another purpose. At PTB, emissivity is itself the quantity — treated as one that must be measured traceably, uncertainty-quantified, and linked to SI radiometry. That vantage point is what makes PTB a reference institution not only for materials research, but for pyrometry, remote sensing, radiative cooling, and the calibration logic underlying all non-contact temperature measurement.

External sources

• WG 7.35 Emissivity — PTB