A blackbody calibration source is a tool for checking the calibration of an infrared temperature sensor. HEITRONICS blackbodies consist of a heated cavity with specific designs to produce near-perfect and uniform emissivity and temperature.
 

HEITRONICS has been producing high quality cavity blackbodies for the last 40 years.  Current blackbodies offered by HEITRONICS are outlined in the model comparison table below.
 

Within the marketplace, there are two ‘styles’ of Infrared Radiation Sources, which are also sometimes referred to as Infrared Calibrators, Blackbody Calibrators or Blackbody Radiators.
 

HEITRONICS utilizes a cavity in the construction of its blackbodies, which is common practice for producing high emissivity.  HEITRONICS blackbodies produce emissivity ≥0.995 per the respective model.

Other blackbodies in the marketplace may utilize a flat plate which will typically have an emissivity between 0.95 to 0.96.  Sources of this kind are correctly referred to as a ‘plate radiation source’ due to their relatively low emissivity and, as such, are not truly a ‘blackbody’.  The errors that can be induced by such a low emissivity when performing low-end temperature calibrations is a topic that should be carefully considered by consulting with the provider of such sources,  if the subject is not specifically addressed in the documentation supplied with the plate radiation source.

HEITRONICS and Wintronics personnel are available to discuss the technical merits of applying a HEITRONICS Transfer Radiation Thermometer for use with such plate radiation sources.

Compared to the relatively small cavity diameters offered by HEITRONICS and other cavity blackbody producers in the market, plate radiation sources are commonly the source of choice when calibrating relatively low-cost single spot measuring pyrometers, such as the popular handheld infrared thermometer with 8 … 14 microns ( or similar ) spectral range. A primary reason that these instruments are low in cost is influenced by the low cost optics used in the design, which produces low optical resolution. With the low optical resolution, the FOV becomes too large for acquiring the energy emitted from a Ø1 inch cavity, for example. A very popular and high quality plate radiation source has a Ø6 inch radiator.  Large area plate radiation sources are also commonly used for thermal image camera performance testing.

HEITRONICS cavity blackbodies are available to be operated between -20 … 1000 °C. The high quality construction of HEITRONICS cavity blackbodies is evidenced by the continued operation of these blackbodies, made over 30 years ago, by the Wintronics calibration laboratory.

Blackbodies offered by HEITRONICS are commonly used to calibrate pyrometers, infrared thermometers and radiometric thermal imaging cameras.