Temperature locale sensors and related methods

Abstract

Temperature locale sensors include an enclosure defining a sealed volume with a phase-change material therein at a known pressure. The phase-change material is formulated to exhibit a gas-to-solid phase change, without condensing to a liquid phase, at the known pressure and a targeted temperature, i.e., the material's “deposition temperature.” The phase-change material—while at least partially in gaseous form, either initially or after sublimation—is exposed to an environment with temperatures varying by location, including a maximum temperature above the phase-change material's deposition temperature and other temperatures at or below the deposition temperature. The gaseous phase-change material, in a location at the deposition temperature, solidifies from its gaseous phase to form solid grain deposits on a surface within the enclosure of the sensor. The solid deposits precisely identify the location of the specific, targeted deposition temperature.