Temperature in Glass Slides: measurement using Phase Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography and Computational Modeling

TL;DR

This study demonstrates a contactless, high-precision method using phase-sensitive OCT to measure temperature-induced optical changes in glass, validated by theoretical modeling and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach combining experimental OCT measurements with theoretical and numerical models for accurate temperature sensing in transparent solids.

Findings

OPD variation correlates linearly with temperature (20-52°C)

Simulation results agree with experimental data within 5%

Achieved sub-10 nm stability in repeatability tests

Abstract

Phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PhS-OCT) enables precise, contactless measurements of temperature-dependent changes in transparent solids. In this work, we used a common-path spectral-domain OCT system to measure optical path differences (OPD) in a 1-mm-thick soda-lime glass slide immersed in a thermal bath. The OPD variation showed a strong linear correlation with temperature in the range of 20-52{\deg}C, with an experimentally determined sensitivity of 12.4 +- 1.9 nm/{\deg}C. A theoretical model incorporating the thermo-optic and thermal expansion coefficients of glass was proposed to interpret the measurements, and numerical simulations based on finite volume methods were performed to account for spatial temperature gradients in the system. The simulations showed agreement with experimental results within 5% error, validating the approach. Additionally, repeatability tests using lateral scans at constant temperature demonstrated sub-10 nm stability, supporting future extensions to spatially resolved thermal mapping. This technique provides a low-cost platform for localized temperature sensing in solid transparent materials.