Chilled Mirror Hygrometers
Chilled Mirror Hygrometers
The measurement of the water vapor content of a gas by the dew-point technique involves
chilling a surface, usually a metallic mirror, to the temperature at which water on the mirror
surface is in equilibrium with the water vapor pressure in the gas sample above the surface.
At this temperature, the mass of water on the surface is neither increasing (too cold a
surface) nor decreasing (too warm a surface).
In the chilled-mirror technique, a mirror is constructed from a material with good thermal
conductivity such as silver or copper, and properly plated with an inert metal such as
iridium, rubidium, nickel, or gold to prevent tarnishing and oxidation. The mirror is chilled
using a thermoelectric cooler until dew just begins to form. A beam of light, typically from a
solid-state broadband light emitting diode, is aimed at the mirror surface and a
photodetector monitors reflected light.
As the gas sample flows over the chilled mirror, dew droplets form on the mirror surface,
and the reflected light is scattered. As the amount of reflected light decreases, the
photodetector output also decreases. This in turn controls the thermoelectric heat pump via
an analog or digital control system that maintains the mirror temperature at the dew point.
A precision miniature platinum resistance thermometer (PRT) properly embedded in the
mirror monitors the mirror temperature at the established dew point.
If the mirror is controlled to an equilibrium condition above the ice point, i.e., 0 C, the
sensor is measuring the dew point. Below 0 C, the deposit cannot long persist as liquid
water, and it is assumed that the deposit is frost, and that the sensor is measuring the frost
point. However, if the mirror is kept extremely clean, it is possible for dew to exist below
0C, and the only true way to verify that the sensor is controlling on the frost point is to
visually inspect the mirror via a microscope. However, especially outdoors, it is typically
impractical to maintain a perfectly clean mirror, as contaminants such as spores and other
particulates serve as motes on which frost deposits can nucleate. Consequently, errors due
to dew/frost point confusion at 0 C are seldom encountered.