Step-by-Step Guide to Determining Experimental Uncertainty in Thin-Film Resistance

This article presents a detailed uncertainty analysis on the calibration of thin-film resistors, using the perspective advocated by the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM). Particular attention is paid to the uncertainty of fitting parameters obtained by the linear regression of underlying (co-varying) measurements. In recognition of the varying resources and required precision of different research teams, two measurement approaches are used: (1) handheld digital multimeters and thermocouple readouts versus (2) computer-based data acquisition with a multi-channel resistance temperature detector (RTD) card. The uncertainty budgets of each approach are compared.