Sources of Uncertainty in UV Radiation Measurements

Published

January 1, 2001

Author(s)

Thomas C. Larason, Christopher L. Cromer

Abstract

Increasing commercial, scientific, and technical applications involving ultraviolet (UV) radiation has led to the demand for improved understanding of the performance of instrumentaion used to measure this radiation. There has been an effort by manufacturers of UV measuring devices (meters) to produce simple, optically filtered sensor systems to accomplish the varied measurement needs. We address common sources of measurement errors using these meters. The uncertainty in the calibration of the instrument depends on the response of the UV meter to the spectrum of the sources used and its similarity to the spectrum of the quantity to be measured. In addition, large errors can occur due to out-of-band, non-linear, and non-ideal geometric or spatial response of the UV meters. Finally, in many applications, how well the response of the UV meter approximates the presumed action spectrum needs to be understood for optimal use of the meters.

Proceedings Title

2001 Measurement Science Conference

Volume

CD-ROM

Conference Dates

January 18-19, 2001

Conference Title

Measurement Science Conference

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

calibration, error, radiometry, ultraviolet, uncertainty

Citation

Larason, T. and Cromer, C. (2001), Sources of Uncertainty in UV Radiation Measurements, 2001 Measurement Science Conference, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=841518 (Accessed October 22, 2025)