The aim of this investigation is to study thin-film thermoelectric linear arrays
for high spatial temperature measurements and to analyze power laser energy profile. The
sensitive area consists of a planar of 16 individual thin-film Au-Pd thermocouple junctions
with 8 μm × 8 μm of surface area. This sensor allows 16 temperature measurements per
288 μm. It is processed by means of standard integrated circuit techniques. Thermal simulation
of heat conduction in gold and palladium layers has been carried out. The sensor
thermoelectric response has been characterized in transient regime and steady state. The time
constant of thermocouple response is of the order of 140 μs. A linear relationship
between the thermoelectric voltage and the incident power laser has been put in
evidence. Using the linear array, a Gaussian profile of the incident laser beam is obtained.