Pt10 | GUILCOR SENSORS

Pt10
Temperature sensors

Pt10 temperature sensors provide accurate and reliable temperature measurement for industrial applications requiring low nominal resistance.

Maximum precision
+/- 0.15°K

Minimum temperature
-200°C

Maximum temperature
+600°C

Minimum dimensions
2x20x40

Response time
Fast

Self-heating
Weak

Price
High

Drift
Weak

What is a Pt10 sensor ?

This type of sensor is mainly used for precision applications in a low temperature range, including laboratory, calibration, or scientific measurement.

It offers great long-term stability and very low drift, while allowing rapid measurements on miniaturized devices.

Operating principle

The principle is based on the change in platinum resistivity with temperature.

The relationship between temperature (T) and resistance (R) follows the standardized Callendar–Van Dusen equation :

R(T) = R0[(1+A⋅T+B⋅T²+C⋅(T-100)⋅T³]

with :

R_0 = 10 Ω
A = 3,9083 × 10⁻³
B = -5,775 × 10⁻⁷
C = −4,183×10−12 (pour T < 0 °C)

This equation ensures extreme accuracy over the range −200 °C → +600 °C, with platinum offering exemplary linearity and reproducibility.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Typical Value
Nominal resistance at 0 °C	10 Ω
Temperature coefficient (α)	0,00385 °C⁻¹
Measurement range	−200 °C to +600 °C
Linearity	Excellent
Element material	Platinium pur (99,99 %)
Typical measuring current	0,5 mA
Response time	< 0,3 s (in Ø2 mm sheath)
Long-term drift	< 0,05 °C/year

Wiring configuration

Type	Description	Precision
2-wire	Simple connection, suitable for short distances.	⚠️ Average
3-wire	Partial compensation of cable resistance.	✅ Good
4-wire	Completely eliminates line resistance.	🏆 Excellent

Self-heating

For the Pt10, with its low resistance, the measuring current must remain below 0.5 mA to prevent any heating.

Typical self-heating is less than 0.05 °C, even in still air.

A current that is too high would distort the measurement by several tenths of a degree.

Application areas

🧪 Calibration and metrology laboratories

⚙️ Precision reference measurements

🧭 Miniaturized embedded sensors

🌡️ Thermal control in cryogenic or scientific environments

🔍 Calibration equipment for Pt100/Pt1000

Should I choose a Pt10 sensor ?

Strengths points

🎯 Extreme precision → Thanks to its low R₀ (10 Ω) and pure platinum, the Pt10 offers excellent metrological stability, ideal for calibrations and reference measurements.
⚡ Ultra-fast response → Its low thermal mass and small diameter enable almost instantaneous responsiveness to temperature changes.
🧬 Remarkable linearity → The Callendar–Van Dusen equation ensures a perfectly predictable response curve over the entire range of −200 to +600 °C.

Weaknesses points

💸 High cost→ The pure platinum construction and fine calibration make this sensor more expensive than Cu or Ni versions.
🧲 Low signal→ With only 10 Ω at 0 °C, the Pt10 delivers a very low voltage, requiring a high-precision instrumentation amplifier.
🔧 Sensitive to cable resistance
→ In 2-wire configurations, even a small cable length can distort the measurement; a 4-wire setup is almost mandatory.

Useful information

Here is some useful information about Pt10 sensors.

Table of ohmic values

Temp (°C)	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
0	10.0	10.039	10.078	10.117	10.156	10.195	10.234	10.273	10.312	10.351
10	10.39	10.429	10.468	10.507	10.546	10.585	10.624	10.663	10.702	10.74
20	10.779	10.818	10.857	10.896	10.935	10.973	11.012	11.051	11.09	11.129
30	11.167	11.206	11.245	11.283	11.322	11.361	11.4	11.438	11.477	11.515
40	11.554	11.593	11.631	11.67	11.708	11.747	11.786	11.824	11.863	11.901
50	11.94	11.978	12.017	12.055	12.094	12.132	12.171	12.209	12.247	12.286
60	12.324	12.363	12.401	12.439	12.478	12.516	12.554	12.593	12.631	12.669
70	12.708	12.746	12.784	12.822	12.861	12.899	12.937	12.975	13.013	13.052
80	13.09	13.128	13.166	13.204	13.242	13.28	13.318	13.357	13.395	13.433
90	13.471	13.509	13.547	13.585	13.623	13.661	13.699	13.737	13.775	13.813
100	13.851	13.888	13.926	13.964	14.002	14.04	14.078	14.116	14.154	14.191
110	14.2293	14.2671	14.305	14.343	14.38	14.418	14.456	14.494	14.531	14.569
120	14.607	14.644	14.682	14.72	14.757	14.795	14.833	14.87	14.908	14.946
130	14.983	15.021	15.058	15.096	15.133	15.171	15.208	15.246	15.283	15.321
140	15.358	15.396	15.433	15.471	15.508	15.546	15.583	15.62	15.658	15.695
150	15.733	15.77	15.807	15.845	15.882	15.919	15.956	15.994	16.031	16.068
160	16.105	16.143	16.18	16.217	16.254	16.291	16.329	16.366	16.403	16.44
170	16.477	16.514	16.551	16.589	16.626	16.663	16.7	16.737	16.774	16.811
180	16.848	16.885	16.922	16.959	16.996	17.033	17.07	17.107	17.143	17.18
190	17.217	17.254	17.291	17.328	17.365	17.402	17.438	17.475	17.512	17.549
200	17.586	17.622	17.659	17.696	17.733	17.769	17.806	17.843	17.879	17.916
210	17.953	17.989	18.026	18.063	18.099	18.136	18.172	18.209	18.246	18.282
220	18.319	18.355	18.392	18.428	18.465	18.501	18.538	18.574	18.611	18.647
230	18.684	18.72	18.756	18.793	18.829	18.866	18.902	18.938	18.975	19.011
240	19.047	19.084	19.12	19.156	19.192	19.229	19.265	19.301	19.337	19.374
250	19.41	19.446	19.482	19.518	19.555	19.591	19.627	19.663	19.699	19.735
260	19.771	19.807	19.843	19.879	19.915	19.951	19.987	20.023	20.059	20.095
270	20.131	20.167	20.203	20.239	20.275	20.311	20.347	20.383	20.419	20.455
280	20.49	20.526	20.562	20.598	20.634	20.67	20.705	20.741	20.777	20.813
290	20.848	20.884	20.92	20.956	20.991	21.027	21.063	21.098	21.134	21.17
300	21.205	21.241	21.276	21.312	21.348	21.383	21.419	21.454	21.49	21.525
310	21.561	21.596	21.632	21.667	21.703	21.738	21.774	21.809	21.844	21.88
320	21.915	21.951	21.986	22.021	22.057	22.092	22.127	22.163	22.198	22.233
330	22.268	22.304	22.339	22.374	22.409	22.445	22.48	22.515	22.55	22.585
340	22.621	22.656	22.691	22.726	22.761	22.796	22.831	22.866	22.902	22.937
350	22.972	23.007	23.042	23.077	23.112	23.147	23.182	23.217	23.252	23.287
360	23.321	23.356	23.391	23.426	23.461	23.496	23.531	23.566	23.6	23.635
370	23.67	23.705	23.74	23.774	23.809	23.844	23.879	23.913	23.948	23.983
380	24.018	24.052	24.087	24.122	24.156	24.191	24.226	24.26	24.295	24.329
390	24.364	24.399	24.433	24.468	24.502	24.537	24.571	24.606	24.64	24.675
400	24.709	24.744	24.778	24.813	24.847	24.881	24.916	24.95	24.985	25.019

Precision class table

Temperature (°C)	Classe B	Classe A	Classe 1/3 B (DIN)	Classe 1/10 B (DIN)
-200	1.30	0.55	0.39	0.38
-150	1.05	0.45	0.23	0.21
-100	0.80	0.35	0.15	0.12
-90	0.75	0.33	0.14	0.10
-80	0.70	0.31	0.13	0.09
-70	0.65	0.29	0.12	0.08
-60	0.60	0.27	0.11	0.07
-50	0.55	0.25	0.10	0.06
-40	0.50	0.23	0.10	0.06
-30	0.45	0.21	0.09	0.05
-20	0.40	0.19	0.09	0.04
-10	0.37	0.17	0.08	0.03
0	0.30	0.15	0.08	0.03
10	0.35	0.17	0.09	0.04
20	0.40	0.19	0.10	0.04
30	0.45	0.21	0.11	0.05
40	0.50	0.23	0.12	0.06
50	0.55	0.25	0.13	0.07
60	0.60	0.27	0.14	0.08
70	0.65	0.29	0.16	0.09
80	0.70	0.31	0.17	0.10
90	0.75	0.33	0.18	0.11
100	0.80	0.35	0.19	0.12
110	0.85	0.37	0.20	0.13
120	0.90	0.39	0.21	0.14
130	0.95	0.41	0.22	0.15
140	1.00	0.43	0.24	0.15
150	1.05	0.45	0.25	0.16
160	1.10	0.47	0.26	0.17
170	1.15	0.49	0.27	0.18
180	1.20	0.51	0.29	0.19
190	1.25	0.53	0.30	0.21
200	1.30	0.55	0.31	0.22

Example of application of the linearization equation of a PT10

The Pt10 follows the standardized Callendar–Van Dusen law, which relates the measured resistance R(T) to the temperature T as follows :

R(T) = R_0 [1 + A·T + B·T^2 + C·(T - 100)·T^3]

at :

R_0 = 10Ω to 0 °C
A = 3,9083 × 10^{-3}
B = -5,775 × 10^{-7}
C = -4,183 × 10^{-12} (pour T < 0 °C)

For T ≥ 0 °C, the cubic part (C) is negligible.

🔹 Example 1 : calculating resistance at a given temperature

We seek the resistance of the Pt10 at 100 °C :

R(100) = 10 × [1 + 3,9083×10^{-3}×100 - 5,775×10^{-7}×100^{2}]

R(100) = 10 × [1 + 0,39083 - 0,005775] = 10 × 1,385055 = 13,85Ω

✅ Result : at 100 °C, the Pt10 shows a resistance of 13.85 Ω.

🔹 Example 2: calculating temperature from a measured resistance

A resistance of R = 11.39 Ω is measured. What is the temperature ?

T = - A + √{A^2 - 4B(1 - R/R_0) / {2B}

T = - 3,9083×10^{-3} + √(3,9083×10^{-3})^2 - 4×(-5,775×10^{-7})×(1 - 11,39/10) / 2×(-5,775×10^{-7})

T ≈ 36 °C

✅ Result : the corresponding temperature is approximately 36 °C.

🔹 Application Notes

This equation can be directly implemented in a microcontroller (STM32, ESP32, Arduino).
In practice, devices often use a simplified polynomial interpolation or a lookup table (0.1 °C per step).
For T < 0 °C, the cubic component C(T−100)T³ must be added.

Integration diagram in an electronic system

The Pt10, being a very low resistance, requires a high-precision setup with a stable current source and differential amplification.

The most reliable method is 4-wire wiring, which cancels out the parasitic resistance of the conductors.

🔹 Typical components of the setup

Composant	Fonction
RTD Pt10 (4 wires)	Platinum sensing element
Precise current source (0.5 mA max)	Sensor power supply
Instrumentation amplifier (INA333, AD8421)	Amplifies the mV signal
ADC converter (24 bits)	Analog signal conversion
Microcontroller	Calculation of T via Callendar–Van Dusen
Shielded 4-wire cabling	Noise and loss reduction

🔹 Functional Diagram (ASCII)

    +3.3V / +5V
         │
  Stable current source (1 mA)
         │
       [Pt10]
 (2 power wires + 2 sense wires)
     │           │
     │           │
 Amplifier       →  ADC (16–24 bits)
Instrumentation        │
                       │
                Microcontroller
                       │
          Callendar–Van Dusen Equation

🔹 Operating principle

The current source sends 0.5 mA into the Pt10 probe.

At 0 °C → V=R×I=10×0.0005=5mV
At 100 °C → V≈13.85×0.0005=6.93mV

2. The amplifier boosts this voltage (gain 100 → 500) to match the ADC.

→ Typical output: 0.5 to 3.5 V.

3. The ADC measures the voltage, and the microcontroller calculates the temperature via Callendar–Van Dusen.

🔹 Practical recommendations

🧩 4-wire setup mandatory for low resistances (<100 Ω).
⚡ Avoid interference : twisted and shielded cables.
💧 Mechanically protect the probe to prevent platinum micro-cracks.
🔄 Periodically calibrate with a bath at 0 °C (melting ice) and 100 °C (boiling water).