JP7693159B2 - Temperature sensor, temperature detection device, temperature detection method, temperature detection program, and method for manufacturing temperature sensor - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a temperature sensor, a temperature detection device, a temperature detection method, a temperature detection program, and a method for manufacturing a temperature sensor that detects temperature using the light of an element that emits light when exposed to excitation energy.

A temperature measuring device has been proposed that uses a temperature sensor made of a chloride phosphor containing chloride as a matrix and erbium ions or thulium ions as an activator, excites the temperature sensor with excitation light, detects the fluorescence spectrum generated by the excitation of the temperature sensor, and calculates the temperature from the detected spectrum (see Patent Document 1). In manufacturing such a temperature sensor, a method of introducing a luminescent substance into a crystal is the vapor phase growth method, in which the luminescent substance is introduced during crystal growth.

However, in vapor phase growth, the luminescent material is evenly dispersed throughout the crystal, making it impossible to control the placement position of the luminescent material. As a result, the background art is unable to place the luminescent material locally to detect the temperature of a minute region, resulting in problems with spatial resolution in temperature detection.

JP 2004-028629 A

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a temperature sensor, a temperature detection device, a temperature detection method, a temperature detection program, and a method for manufacturing a temperature sensor that can improve the spatial resolution in temperature detection.

The present invention is characterized by a temperature sensor, a temperature detection device, a temperature detection method, a temperature detection program, and a method for manufacturing a temperature sensor, which include a luminescent material that emits light when exposed to excitation energy and whose luminescence changes depending on temperature, and a base material into which the luminescent material is introduced, and the region into which the luminescent material is introduced in the base material is configured as a plurality of luminescent regions that are spaced apart from one another when viewed from a detection direction for detecting temperature.

This invention provides a temperature sensor, a temperature detection device, a temperature detection method, a temperature detection program, and a method for manufacturing a temperature sensor that can improve the spatial resolution in temperature detection.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a temperature detection device. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a sensor unit. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an excitation method using excitation light. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an excitation method using a current. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an excitation method using an electron beam. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a part of an example of a manufacturing method of the sensor unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a part of an example of a method for manufacturing the sensor unit, following FIG. 4 . FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of an example of a method for manufacturing the sensor unit, following FIG. 5 . 1 is a graph showing the emission spectrum of a certain luminescent material. 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the luminescence intensity ratio and temperature in a certain luminescent material. 4 is a flowchart showing a temperature detection process. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a sensor unit as viewed from a detection direction.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the temperature detection device 1. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the sensor unit 22 in Example 1.

The temperature detection device 1 has a light-emitting temperature sensor 2, a light-receiving unit 3 that receives light from the temperature sensor 2, and a light guide path 4. The light guide path 4 is composed of an optical fiber or the like, and connects the temperature sensor 2 and the light-receiving unit 3 to guide the light from the temperature sensor 2 to the light-receiving unit 3.

The temperature sensor 2 has an excitation section 21 and a sensor section 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor section 22 has a base material 23 and a luminescent material 24 that is doped (introduced) into a predetermined position within the base material 23.

The base material 23 is made of a material that does not emit light even when it receives excitation energy, or does not emit light in a predetermined wavelength band including the emission peak in the emission spectrum of the luminescent material 24 even if it does emit light. For example, the base material 23 is made of a semiconductor material, a ceramic material, a metal material, wood, etc. The base material 23 preferably has a thermal conductivity of 0.25 W/(cm·K) (300 K) or more, more preferably 0.5 W/(cm·K) (300 K) or more, and preferably 1.8 W/(cm·K) (300 K) or more. From the viewpoint of improving the spatial resolution in temperature detection, it is preferable that the thickness of the base material 23 (the thickness from the front surface to the back surface where the luminescent material 24 is provided) is as thin as possible in order to reduce the heat capacity of the sensor unit 22 and make the sensor unit 22 as small as possible. Specifically, the thickness of the luminescent material-added semiconductor 23 is 500 nm or less, preferably 50 nm or less, and more preferably 1 nm to 10 nm. This allows heat from the back side to be transferred quickly and sufficiently to the luminescent material 24 on the front side, allowing the temperature on the back side to be measured appropriately.

When a semiconductor material is used as the base material 23, for example, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, silicon germanium, silicon, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, aluminum gallium nitride, zinc oxide, indium nitride, indium gallium nitride, boron nitride, diamond, etc. can be used. In particular, from the viewpoint of the ease of luminescence of the luminescent material 24 introduced into the base material, it is preferable to use gallium nitride, aluminum nitride, or aluminum gallium nitride as the base material of the luminescent material-added semiconductor 23. In addition, when a current is used as the excitation energy for the base material 23 (the luminescent material 24 is excited by current injection), the sensor unit 22 is configured as a vertical pn junction diode, a vertical Schottky barrier diode, a horizontal pn junction diode, a horizontal Schottky barrier diode, or a high mobility field effect transistor (High Electron Mobility Transistor: HEMT), etc.

The luminescent material 24 is composed of elements that emit light when exposed to excitation energy, and whose emission changes with temperature. In other words, the emission spectrum of the luminescent material 24 changes with temperature.

For example, the luminescent material 24 is a rare earth element, and is one or more selected from the group consisting of praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, and ytterbium.

Figure 3A shows an example of an excitation method using excitation light. Figure 3B shows an example of an excitation method using a current. Figure 3C shows an example of an excitation method using an electron beam.

The excitation unit 21 functions as an excitation energy imparting means for imparting excitation energy to the sensor unit 22 (luminescent material 24), and excites the luminescent material 24. Methods for imparting excitation energy to the luminescent material 24 include a method using excitation light (photoluminescence), a method using current injection (electroluminescence), a method using electron collision (cathodoluminescence), etc.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in photoluminescence, excitation light is irradiated onto the luminescent material 24. For example, the luminescent material 24 can be directly excited by irradiating it with resonant excitation light corresponding to the resonant excitation condition of the luminescent material 24 as excitation light. In addition, when the base material 23 is a semiconductor material, light having a predetermined energy can be irradiated onto the luminescent material 24 and the base material 23 around it as excitation light, and the luminescent material 24 can be indirectly excited (indirectly excited) by the recombination energy of electron-hole pairs in the base material 23 (semiconductor material) or the collision of hot carriers. In addition, when there are multiple resonant excitation conditions for the luminescent material 24, multiple types of resonant excitation light may be used as the excitation light. In addition, when the base material 23 is a semiconductor material, the light irradiated is preferably light (e.g., ultraviolet light) having energy exceeding the band gap of the base material 23. In the case of using photoluminescence, the excitation unit 21 has a light source for irradiating excitation light and functions as an excitation light irradiator.

As shown in FIG. 3B, in electroluminescence, the base material 23 is made of a semiconductor material, and a pair of electrodes are provided on the surface of the base material 23. When a predetermined voltage (forward bias) is applied to the electrodes, a current flows in the base material 23. At this time, the current flowing in the base material 23 generates recombination energy of electron-hole pairs in the base material 23. Therefore, the luminescent material 24 is excited by indirect excitation, similar to photoluminescence by ultraviolet light. When electroluminescence is used, the excitation unit 21 is connected to a power source such as a commercial power source or a battery, and functions as a voltage application unit that applies a predetermined voltage (voltage for temperature detection) to the sensor unit 22.

As shown in FIG. 3C, in cathode luminescence, an electron beam (electron ray) accelerated to several kV to several tens of kV is irradiated onto the luminescent material 24. In this case, the luminescent material 24 can be directly excited by the collision of electrons, or, if the base material 23 is a semiconductor material, the luminescent material 24 can be indirectly excited by the recombination energy of electron-hole pairs or the collision of hot carriers. When using cathode luminescence, the excitation unit 21 has an electron gun or the like, and functions as an electron beam irradiation unit for irradiating the electron beam.

The minimum range (spatial resolution) at which temperature can be detected by photoluminescence and electroluminescence is determined by the resolution of the optical system (light receiving unit 3 and light guide path 4) that detects the emission of the luminescent material 24. The resolution of general-purpose optical systems in this field is about 200 nm, depending on the wavelength of the excitation light and the emission wavelength of the luminescent material, and is about 50 nm when a super-resolution microscope is used.

The spatial resolution of temperature detection in cathode luminescence is determined by factors such as the outer diameter of the electron beam and the spatial spread of the energy imparted by the electron beam. In other words, it is determined by the size of the smallest area excited in cathode luminescence. The size of the smallest area excited in cathode luminescence is about 10 nm.

Returning to FIG. 2, when viewed from the detection direction for detecting temperature, the sensor unit 22 has a plurality of regions (light-emitting regions) 25 in which the light-emitting material 24 is introduced and which are spaced apart from one another, and a region (non-light-emitting region) 26 in which the light-emitting material 24 is not introduced. In this embodiment, when the sensor unit 22 is viewed from the detection direction, all regions other than the light-emitting regions 25 are non-light-emitting regions 26.

The shape of the light-emitting area 25 when viewed from the detection direction is not particularly limited and can be rectangular, circular, or the like. However, it is preferable that the shape of the light-emitting area 25 when viewed from the detection direction is an isotropic shape such as a perfect circle or a regular polygon.

The size of the light-emitting region 25 when viewed from the detection direction may be 200 nm x 200 nm or less than 200 nm in diameter, preferably 50 nm x 50 nm or less in diameter, and more preferably 10 nm x 10 nm or less in diameter.

As mentioned above, the spatial resolution (observation area) of temperature detection using cathode luminescence is about 10 nm. Therefore, when using cathode luminescence, even if the size of the light-emitting area 25 is about 10 nm x 10 nm or the diameter is about 10 nm, it is possible to detect one light-emitting area 25 individually.

In addition, the ease of light detection is determined by the number of luminescent substances in the observation area (observation area volume x luminescent substance concentration) when the luminescent area is larger than the observation area, and by the number of luminescent substances in the luminescent area (luminescent area volume x luminescent substance concentration) when the luminescent area is smaller than the observation area.

Furthermore, from the viewpoint of spatial resolution, the distance between adjacent light-emitting regions 25 may be set as small as possible according to the size of the smallest observation area for each excitation method. For example, the distance may be set to 50 nm or more for photoluminescence and electroluminescence, and 10 nm or more for cathode luminescence. In this way, the distance between the light-emitting regions can be shortened as much as possible according to the smallest observation area for each excitation method, and the spatial resolution can be improved as a result. Note that if the distance between the light-emitting regions 25 is made small and the number of light-emitting regions 25 is increased too much, the ion implantation damage becomes large and repair by heat treatment becomes difficult. For this reason, in order to suppress the deterioration of the performance of the temperature sensor 2, when the distance between the light-emitting regions 25 is set small, that is, as the distance between the light-emitting regions 25 becomes smaller, it is preferable to inject as little light-emitting material as possible. Note that, since a non-light-emitting region 26 exists between adjacent light-emitting regions 25, the distance between the multiple light-emitting regions 25 also refers to the size (width dimension) of the non-light-emitting region 26.

As mentioned above, the spatial resolution of temperature detection with cathode luminescence is about 10 nm. Therefore, if cathode luminescence is used, as long as the distance between adjacent light-emitting regions 25 is 10 nm or more, it is possible to excite one light-emitting region 25 individually (distinguishable from other light-emitting regions 25). In other words, it is possible to detect one light-emitting region 25 individually. Furthermore, as long as the distance between adjacent light-emitting regions 25 is 200 nm or more, it is possible to detect one light-emitting region 25 individually even with photoluminescence and electroluminescence.

The concentration of the luminescent material 24 introduced into the luminescent region 25 is within a range of 5×10 ¹³ particles/cm ³ to 1×10 ²² particles/cm ³ , and preferably within a range of 5×10 ¹⁶ particles/cm ³ to 4×10 ²¹ particles/cm ³ .

A concentration of 5×10 ¹³ particles/cm ³ is a concentration at which approximately one luminescent material 24 particle is present in an area of 200 nm×200 nm×500 nm, and a concentration of 5×10 ¹⁶ particles/cm ³ is a concentration at which approximately 1000 luminescent material particles 24 are present in an area of 200 nm×200 nm×500 nm.

For example, the emission intensity of one praseodymium atom is approximately 100,000 photons per second, so one emitting praseodymium atom is sufficient to detect the light from the temperature sensor 2 (sensor unit 22) with a known photodetector. Therefore, it is considered that a concentration of 5×10 ¹³ particles/cm ³ or more can, in principle, obtain detectable light. Also, a concentration of 5×10 ¹⁶ particles/cm ³ or more can more reliably detect the light from the temperature sensor 2.

Furthermore, a concentration of 1×10 ²² /cm ³ corresponds to an atomic concentration of about 10%, and a concentration of 4×10 ²¹ /cm ³ corresponds to an atomic concentration of about 4%. Since the maximum luminescence intensity of a rare earth element is obtained when the atomic concentration is about 4%, it is most preferable that the introduction concentration of luminescent material 24 in light emitting region 25 is 4×10 ²¹ /cm ³ .

Figure 4 shows a part of the method for manufacturing the sensor unit 22. Figure 5 shows a part of the method for manufacturing the sensor unit 22, and follows Figure 4. Figure 6 shows a part of the method for manufacturing the sensor unit 22, and follows Figure 5.

The sensor section 22 configured as described above can be manufactured by ion implantation. Below, we will explain the method of manufacturing the sensor section 22 when the base material 23 is gallium nitride and the luminescent material 24 is praseodymium.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, a resist film 40 made of a photosensitive resin or the like is formed on the surface of the base material 23 (resist film forming process). The resist film 40 is formed on at least the portion of the surface of the base material 23 that faces the detection direction (light guide path 4 or light receiving unit 3).

Next, a plurality of through holes 41 corresponding to each of the plurality of light-emitting regions 25 are formed in the resist film 40 by electron beam lithography (through hole forming process). The size of the through holes 41 corresponds to the size of the light-emitting regions 25 described above.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the luminescent material 24 is ion-implanted into the base material 23 through the through-holes 41 (ion implantation process). The implantation concentration when the luminescent material 24 is ion-implanted into the base material 23 corresponds to the introduction concentration of the luminescent material 24 in the light-emitting region 25. However, at this stage, the luminescent material 24 injected into the base material 23 is not ionized (activated), and therefore is not in a state where it emits light even if it receives excitation energy.

Then, the resist film 40 is removed (resist film removal step), and the base material 23 into which the luminescent material 24 has been injected is heat-treated (high-temperature treatment) to ionize (oxidize) the luminescent material 24 (heat treatment step). The treatment temperature in the heat treatment step is 500°C to 1650°C. The higher the treatment temperature, the more efficiently the luminescent material 24 can be ionized. On the other hand, if the treatment temperature is too high, the crystal structure of the base material 23 may be destroyed. As an example of a heat treatment technique for recovering such a crystal structure, a technique of subjecting gallium nitride to high temperature (around 1550°C) and high pressure in a nitrogen gas atmosphere is disclosed in Reference 1 (S. Porowski et al., J. Phys: Condens. Matter 14 (2002) 11097-11110).

6, the heat treatment may be performed after forming a heat treatment protective film 42 covering the base material 23. In this case, after removing the resist film 40, the heat treatment protective film 42 is formed to cover the base material 23 (protective film forming step), and the base material 23 with the heat treatment protective film 42 formed thereon is heat treated, after which the heat treatment protective film 42 is removed (protective film removing step). The heat treatment protective film 42 is made of silicide nitride (SiN), silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ), aluminum nitride (AlN), or the like. A report of a heat treatment method using a heat treatment protective film is disclosed in Reference 2 (K. Lorenz, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 85 (2004) 2712-2714).

Figure 7 shows the emission spectrum of trivalent praseodymium, with a graph showing the emission spectrum at 22.5°C and the emission spectrum at 50.7°C. Figure 8 shows the relationship between the emission intensity ratio and temperature for trivalent praseodymium.

Some luminescent substances 24 have two wavelength bands (emission peaks) in which the emission intensity is high in the emission spectrum. For example, trivalent praseodymium is an example of a substance that has two emission peaks. As shown in FIG. 7, the emission spectrum of trivalent praseodymium has a first emission peak (first peak) near 650 nm and a second emission peak (second peak) near 652 nm. In this embodiment, the wavelength band (first wavelength band) from 649 nm to less than 651 nm is the first peak, and the wavelength band (second wavelength band) from 651 nm to less than 653 nm is the second peak.

For both the first and second peaks, the emission intensity is higher when the temperature is low (22.5°C) than when the temperature is high (50.7°C). However, there is a difference in the amount of change (rate of change) in emission intensity due to temperature change between the first and second peaks. In other words, the ratio (emission intensity ratio) of the emission intensity at the first peak (first emission intensity) to the emission intensity at the second peak (second emission intensity) changes depending on the temperature.

Taking praseodymium as an example, as shown in FIG. 8, the emission intensity ratio decreases as the temperature decreases and increases as the temperature increases. In this embodiment, the luminous substance 24 is praseodymium as an example, but the emission intensity ratio of the two peaks changes depending on the temperature, and the emission intensity ratio decreases as the temperature decreases and increases as the temperature increases, which is the same for other rare earth elements.

For example, although not shown, the emission spectrum of neodymium has a first peak near 865 nm and a second peak near 885 nm. The emission spectrum of erbium has a first peak near 525 nm and a second peak near 550 nm. When neodymium and ytterbium are co-doped, the first peak is near 950 nm and the second peak is near 1050 nm. It is considered that the relationship between the emission intensity ratio of the two peaks and temperature can be clarified by obtaining the emission spectrum in advance by experiments or the like and setting the first and second peaks for other rare earth elements not exemplified here.

Returning to FIG. 1, the light receiving unit 3 has a light detection unit 31 and a control unit 32. The light detection unit 31 is for detecting light from the sensor unit 22 (light emitting material 24) and has a spectroscopic unit 33, a first photodetector 34, and a second photodetector 35. The spectroscopic unit 33 is for splitting the light from the sensor unit 22 (light emitting material 24) into light of a first wavelength band corresponding to the first peak and light of a second wavelength band corresponding to the second peak. The configuration of the spectroscopic unit 33 is not particularly limited, and a beam splitter or a dichroic mirror may be used, or it may be configured by a combination of an optical element such as a mirror, an etalon filter, and a bandpass filter. Of the light split by the spectroscopic unit 33, the light of the first wavelength band is incident on the first photodetector 34, and the light of the second wavelength band is incident on the second photodetector 35.

The first photodetector 34 and the second photodetector 35 are for outputting a signal corresponding to the intensity of the incident light to the control unit 32. The configuration of the first photodetector 34 and the second photodetector 35 is not particularly limited, and a photodiode or the like can be used. The first photodetector 34 and the second photodetector 35 may also be configured as a single-photon detector capable of detecting a single photon.

The control unit 32 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit (memory) that stores various data. This control unit 32 executes at least a temperature detection process. That is, the control unit 32 detects light from the luminescent material 24 of the sensor unit 22 based on a signal output from the light detection unit 31, and functions as a temperature detection unit that detects (measures) the temperature based on the detected light. The control unit 32 may also function as the main control unit of the temperature detection device 1, in which case the control unit 32 transmits control signals to each part of the temperature detection device 1, such as the excitation unit 21, and causes the temperature detection device 1 to perform various operations.

The temperature detection device 1 configured as described above executes a temperature detection process that detects the temperature at the installation position of the luminescent material 24 by utilizing the relationship between the luminescence intensity ratio of the two peaks of the luminescent material 24 and the temperature. When executing the temperature detection process, temperature detection conditions based on the relationship between the luminescence intensity ratio of the two peaks of the luminescent material 24 used and the temperature are created in advance, and data on these temperature detection conditions is stored in the memory of the control unit 32. For example, the luminescence intensity ratio of the two peaks at various temperatures is obtained by experiment or the like, and an approximation formula showing the relationship between the luminescence intensity ratio and temperature based on the experimental results or table data for converting the luminescence intensity ratio to temperature is created as the temperature detection conditions and stored in the memory of the control unit 32.

Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the temperature detection process executed by the control unit 32. First, the excitation unit 21 is controlled to provide excitation energy to the sensor unit 22 (electrode) (step S1). By providing excitation energy to the sensor unit 22, the luminescent material 24 emits light, and the light from the luminescent material 24 passes through the light guide 4 and enters the light detection unit 31. The emission spectrum of the light from the luminescent material 24 at this time becomes the emission spectrum of the luminescent material 24 at the current temperature. In this embodiment, the light that enters the light detection unit 31 is split by the spectroscopic unit 33 into light of a first wavelength band that enters the first photodetector 34 and light of a second wavelength band that enters the second photodetector 35.

Then, the first photodetector 34 outputs a signal corresponding to the first emission intensity, which is the intensity of light in the first wavelength band, and the control unit 32 detects (obtains) the first emission intensity in response to this signal (step S2). The second photodetector 35 outputs a signal corresponding to the second emission intensity, which is the intensity of light in the second wavelength band, and the control unit 32 obtains the second emission intensity in response to this signal (step S3).

Next, the emission intensity ratio between the first emission intensity and the second emission intensity is calculated (step S4), and the temperature at the installation position of the luminescent material 24 is detected from the emission intensity ratio according to the temperature detection conditions (step S5).

In this way, in this embodiment, the temperature of each of the light-emitting regions 25 (light-emitting materials 24) can be selectively detected individually on the nanoscale (nanometer order). That is, the temperature can be detected on the nanoscale. Therefore, the spatial resolution in the temperature detection process can be improved. In addition, since the temperature is measured based on the emission spectrum, if the sensor unit 22 is placed in contact with the object to be measured, there is no need to bring anything else into contact with the object when measuring the temperature. Therefore, the temperature can be measured while preventing temperature changes due to contact with objects other than the sensor unit 22.

Furthermore, there is a conventional technique that uses silicon vacancies in silicon carbide as quantum sensors such as magnetic sensors. Such conventional techniques can only be applied to silicon carbide and cannot be applied to other materials. In contrast, the present embodiment has the advantage that there are fewer restrictions on the materials that make up the sensor unit 22 compared to the above conventional techniques.

In addition, in order to measure temperature using the emission spectrum at the current temperature of the luminescent material 24, it is possible to measure the ambient temperature of the area where the sensor unit 22 containing the luminescent material 24 is placed, or to measure the temperature of an object against which the back surface of the base material 23 of the sensor unit 22 is in contact. For example, the temperature of the object against which the back surface of the base material 23 of the sensor unit 22 is placed is transferred by heat from the base material 23 to the luminescent material 24. Therefore, the temperature of the object against which the base material 23 is in contact can be measured from the emission of the luminescent material 24.

As a preferred example of a combination of the type of base material 23 and the type of luminescent material 24, the base material 23 can be gallium nitride and the luminescent material 24 can be praseodymium, particularly trivalent praseodymium. This combination has the advantage that praseodymium is easy to emit light, making it easy to detect light. Furthermore, by using gallium nitride as the base material 23, it becomes easier to incorporate into electronic devices, particularly semiconductor devices, and it is also possible to introduce the luminescent material 24 onto an electronic device containing gallium nitride to form a sensor unit 22 or a temperature sensor 2. In this way, it is possible to locally detect the temperature at any position on the electronic device, or to detect the temperature at multiple positions on the electronic device, thereby detecting the temperature distribution in the electronic device.

Some luminescent materials 24 have emission peaks whose wavelengths change with temperature. For example, in the emission spectrum of neodymium, the emission peak appears near 863 nm, and tends to become shorter (shorter) as the temperature decreases and longer (longer) as the temperature increases. In other words, there is a relationship between the wavelength at which the emission peak appears and the temperature. By utilizing this relationship between the wavelength at which the emission peak appears and the temperature, the emission spectrum of the luminescent material 24 can be detected, and the temperature can be detected according to the wavelength of the emission peak in the emission spectrum. In this case, the wavelength at a reference temperature can be set as the reference wavelength, and the temperature can be detected according to the difference (Δλ) from the reference wavelength.

In this way, when using the relationship between the temperature and the wavelength at which the emission peak appears, there is no need to separate the light from the luminescent material 24. Therefore, the light detection unit 36 only needs to have one light detection unit 37.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the sensor unit 22 as viewed from the detection direction. As shown in Figure 10, a plurality of light-emitting regions 25 (light-emitting substances 24) can be arranged in the sensor unit 22, and a temperature detection object such as a living cell can be placed on the surface of the base material 23. In this way, the temperature of each light-emitting region 25 can be detected individually, thereby making it possible to detect the temperature distribution in the temperature detection object on a nanoscale.

This invention is not limited to this embodiment, but can be embodied in various other ways. Furthermore, the specific configurations and the like described in the above embodiment are merely examples, and can be modified as appropriate depending on the actual product.

The present invention can be provided not only as a temperature detection device and a temperature sensor, but also as a method, a program, and a storage medium storing the program for detecting light from a luminescent material using a temperature sensor and detecting temperature based on the detected light, and can also be provided as a method for manufacturing a temperature sensor using an ion implantation method.

This invention can be used in industries that detect temperature using the light emitted by elements that emit light when exposed to excitation energy.

1...Temperature detection device 2...Temperature sensor 3...Light receiving section 21...Excitation section 22...Sensor section 23...Base material 24...Luminescent material 25...Luminescent region 31...Light detection section 32...Control section (temperature detection section)
40: resist film 41: through hole

Claims (6)

a luminescent material that emits light when exposed to excitation energy and whose luminescence changes depending on temperature;
a host material into which the luminescent material is introduced;
the region in which the luminescent material is introduced into the base material is configured as a plurality of luminescent regions that are spaced apart from one another when viewed from a detection direction for detecting temperature;
Each of the plurality of light-emitting regions has a size of 200 nm×200 nm or less or a diameter of less than 200 nm when viewed from the detection direction,
The base material is made of a semiconductor material, a ceramic material, a metal material, or wood.
Temperature sensor. a luminescent material that emits light when exposed to excitation energy and whose luminescence changes depending on temperature;
a host material into which the luminescent material is introduced;
the region in which the luminescent material is introduced into the base material is configured as a plurality of luminescent regions that are spaced apart from one another when viewed from a detection direction for detecting temperature;
Each of the plurality of light-emitting regions has a size of 200 nm×200 nm or less or a diameter of less than 200 nm when viewed from the detection direction,
The luminescent material is introduced into the base material in an ionized state.
Temperature sensor. Each of the plurality of light-emitting regions has a size of 10 nm×10 nm or more when viewed from the detection direction,
3. The temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the plurality of light emitting regions is 10 nm or more. A temperature sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
an excitation energy providing means for providing excitation energy to the luminescent material of the temperature sensor;
a light detection unit that detects light from the light emitting material;
A temperature detection device comprising a temperature detection unit that detects a temperature based on the detected light. a temperature sensor comprising a luminescent material that emits light when it receives excitation energy and whose luminescence changes depending on temperature, and a base material into which the luminescent material is introduced, the region into which the luminescent material is introduced in the base material is configured as a plurality of luminescent regions that are spaced apart from one another when viewed from a detection direction for detecting temperature, each of the plurality of luminescent regions has a size of 200 nm×200 nm or less or a diameter of less than 200 nm when viewed from the detection direction, and the base material is made of a semiconductor material, a ceramic material, a metal material, or wood;
detecting light from the luminescent material;
A temperature detection method for detecting temperature based on the detected light. A method for manufacturing a temperature sensor comprising: a luminescent material that emits light when exposed to excitation energy and whose luminescence changes depending on temperature; and a base material into which the luminescent material is introduced, the base material having an area into which the luminescent material is introduced being configured as a plurality of luminescent areas that are spaced apart from one another when viewed from a detection direction for detecting temperature, the method comprising the steps of:
forming a resist film on the surface of the base material into which the luminescent material has been introduced;
forming a through hole in the resist film corresponding to the light emitting region;
ion-implanting the luminescent material into the base material through the through-hole;
removing the resist film;
forming a heat treatment protective film to cover the base material into which the luminescent material is injected;
heat treating the base material on which the heat treatment protective film is formed;
The method of manufacturing a temperature sensor further comprises removing the heat treatment protective film after the heat treatment.

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