A Compact Fluorescent Probe for Real-Time Thermal Monitoring of Chips

In this paper, a compact fluorescent probe based on fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique is proposed for real-time thermal monitoring of chips, the sensing unit of which is based on a self-made tellurite optical fiber (TOF) co-doped with Er ³⁺ /Yb ³⁺ ions. Temperature information was demodulated by analyzing the up-conversion fluorescence emission spectra generated using a 980 nm laser pump. Experimentally characterized the relationship between the FIR related to two thermally coupled energy levels and the ambient temperature, and on-line investigated the temperature change of Central Processing Unit (CPU) and North Bridge Chip for about 80 min during the cycle startup/shutdown process. The proposed probe exhibits a fast time response of about 1.1 s in a step temperature-varying environment and a small absolute error of <0.85 K in the real-time thermal monitoring of the CPU. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on fluorescent probes for thermal detection of chips. The proposed probe has the characteristics of anti-electromagnetic interference, explosion-proof, corrosion resistance, and can effectively avoid cross-sensitivity problems caused by environmental parameters. It provides a novel and reliable method for real-time thermal monitoring of chips.