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Cernox® specifications

Standard curve Not applicable

Recommended excitation¹
20 µV (0.1 K to 0.5 K); 63 µV (0.5 K to 1 K);
10 mV or less for T > 1.2 K

Dissipation at recommended excitation Typical 10^-5 W at 300 K, 10^-7 W at 4.2 K, 10^-13W at 0.3 K (model and temperature dependent)

Thermal response time (typical) BC, BR, BG: 1.5 ms at 4.2 K, 50 ms at 77 K, 135 ms at 273 K; SD: 15 ms at 4.2 K, 0.25 s at 77 K, 0.8 s at 273 K; AA: 0.4 s at 4.2 K, 2 s at 77 K, 1.0 s at 273 K

Use in radiation Recommended for use in radiation environments — more information

Use in magnetic field Recommended for use in magnetic fields at low temperatures. The magneto-resistance is typically negligibly small above 30 K and not significantly affected by orientation relative to the magnetic field — more information

Reproducibility² ±3 mK at 4.2 K

Soldering standard J-STD-001 Class 2

¹ Recommended excitation for T < 1 K based on Lake Shore calibration procedures using an AC resistance bridge — for more information, refer to Appendix D and Appendix E

² Short-term reproducibility data is obtained by subjecting sensor to repeated thermal shocks from 305 K to 4.2 K

Range of use

	Minimum limit³	Maximum limit
Cernox®	0.10 K	325 K
Cernox® HT	0.10 K	420 K

³ Model dependent

Calibrated accuracy⁴

	Typical sensor accuracy⁵	Long-term stability⁶
1.4 K	±5 mK	±3 mK
4.2 K	±5 mK	±3 mK
10 K	±6 mK	±6 mK
20 K	±9 mK	±12 mK
30 K	±10 mK	±18 mK
50 K	±13 mK	±30 mK
77 K	±16 mK	±46 mK
300 K	±60 mK	±180 mK
400 K	±65 mK	—

⁴ Bare chip sensors can only be calibrated after attaching gold wire leads – the user must remove the ball-bonded leads if they are not desired (the bond pads are large enough for additional bonds)

⁵ [(Calibration uncertainty)² + (reproducibility)²]^0.5 for more information, see Appendices B, D, and E

⁶ Long-term stability data is obtained by subjecting sensor to 200 thermal shocks from 305 K to 77 K

Temperature response data table (typical)

Expanded data tables

	CX-1010			CX-1030			CX-1050
T(K)	R⁸(Ω)	dR/dT (Ω/K)	(T/R)· (dR/dT)	R(Ω)	dR/dT (Ω/K)	(T/R)· (dR/dT)	R(Ω)	dR/dT (Ω/K)	(T/R)· (dR/dT)
4.2	277.32	-32.209	-0.49	574.20	-97.344	-0.71	3507.2	-1120.8	-1.34
10	187.11	-8.063	-0.43	331.67	-19.042	-0.57	1313.5	-128.58	-0.98
20	138.79	-3.057	-0.44	225.19	-6.258	-0.56	692.81	-30.871	-0.89
30	115.38	-1.819	-0.47	179.12	-3.453	-0.58	482.88	-14.373	-0.89
77.35	70.837	-0.510	-0.56	101.16	-0.820	-0.63	205.67	-2.412	-0.91
300	30.392	-0.065	-0.65	41.420	-0.088	-0.64	59.467	-0.173	-0.87
400 (HT)	—	—	—	34.779	-0.050	-0.57	46.782	-0.093	-0.79
420 (HT)	—	—	—	33.839	-0.045	-0.55	45.030	-0.089	-0.77


	CX-1070			CX-1080
T(K)	R⁸(Ω)	dR/dT (Ω/K)	(T/R)· (dR/dT)	R(Ω)	dR/dT (Ω/K)	(T/R)· (dR/dT)
4.2	5979.4	-2225.3	-1.56	—	—	—
10	1927.2	-214.11	-1.11	—	—	—
20	938.93	-46.553	-0.99	6157.5	-480.08	-1.56
30	629.90	-20.613	-0.98	3319.7	-165.61	-1.50
77.35	248.66	-3.150	-0.98	836.52	-15.398	-1.42
300	66.441	-0.201	-0.91	129.39	-0.545	-1.26
400 (HT)	51.815	-0.106	-0.81	91.463	-0.261	-1.14
420 (HT)	49.819	-0.094	-0.80	86.550	-0.231	-1.12

⁸ Cernox sensors do not follow a standard response curve — the listed resistance ranges are typical but can vary widely; consult Lake Shore to choose a specific range

Physical specifications

	Mass	Lead type	Internal atmosphere
Bare chip (BC), (BG), (BR)	≤3.0 mg	BR: none BG: two 2 µm (44 AWG), bare gold, 25 mm long wires BC: two 2.5 µm (42 AWG), bare copper, 25 mm long wires	NA
Hermetic ceramic package (SD)	≈40 mg	2 gold-plated copper	Vacuum
Copper canister package (AA)	≈390 mg	4 phosphor bronze with HML heavy build insulation attached with epoxy strain relief at sensor	Helium 4 (⁴He) is standard

cernoxts_aa_pack
AA package Wires with the same color code are connected to the same side of the sensor (looking at epoxy seal with leads toward user)

Cernox® calibration ranges

Typical magnetic field-dependent temperature errors⁷ ΔT/T (%) at B (magnetic induction)

Cernox® 1050
T (K)	2.5 T	8 T	14 T	19 T
2	1.3	3.1	3.9	5
4.2	0.1	-0.15	-0.85	-0.8
10	0.04	-0.4	-1.1	-1.5
20	0.04	0.02	-0.16	-0.2
30	0.01	0.04	0.06	0.11
77	0.002	0.022	0.062	0.11
300	0.003	0.004	0.004	0.006

⁷ Excellent for use in magnetic fields, depending on temperature range (>2 K)

Looking for better temperature stability in strong magnetic fields? Consider pairing a Cernox sensor with a Lake Shore capacitance sensor.

Magnetic field dependence data for sample CX RTDs

Typical temperature reading errors for operation of CX-1050 sensors in magnetic fields at temperatures from 2.03 K to 286 K. “Low temperature thermometry in high magnetic fields VII. Cernox™ sensors to 32 T,” B. L. Brandt, D. W. Liu and L. G. Rubin; Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 70, No. 1, 1999, pp 104-110.

Neutrons and gamma rays

Typical calibration shifts

Typical calibration shift after 200 thermal shocks from 305 K to 77 K for a Model CX-1030 temperature sensor (ΔT = 1 mK at 4.2 K and 10 mK at 100 K).