Department of Information and Communications Engineering

Metrology Research Institute

Metrology Research Institute focuses on optical radiation measurements and related activities. We do not forecast the weather!
Metrology research group, Xenon lamp. Photo by the research group

Light is everywhere around us in the form of sunlight, artificial lighting and signaling. Most electrical equipment use either visible or infrared radiation for signaling, displays, sensing, data read-out, or digital communication. Colour is one of the most significant properties in consumer products.

Metrology research of Optical Radiation Measurements is divided into three branches:

  • Radiometry deals with characteristics of light sources and detectors
  • Photometry studies light as humans see it, and
  • Spectrophotometry investigates optical components as well as the optical properties of materials.

Some of the facilities, developed in the laboratory, are at world-leading level, when comparing accuracy, compactness, and operating costs. The group's research concentrates on electronics, modern optics and optical radiation measurements.

Metrology Research Institute is a joint laboratory between Aalto University and MIKES. It is involved in many national and international projects. Most of the research in the laboratory is currently carried out within the frameworks of EURAMET EPM, EMRP and EMPIR.

The Institute is the national standards laboratory for optical quantities in Finland, maintaining national standards of optical quantities and carrying out calibrations at the highest level.

The research group is led by Professor Erkki Ikonen. See our detailed project descriptions for information about specific contact persons for each activity.

Research areas

Find out more about the key research areas of the Metrology Research Institute. The pages contain information about our latest projects. For information about our older projects see our Annual Reports Database.

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Photometry

Photometry is the measurement of visible light as perceived by humans. Our current focus is on increasing the accuracy of the energy efficiency measurements of novel light sources, such as LEDs and OLEDs.

Department of Information and Communications Engineering
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Radiometry

Radiometry deals with techniques for measuring electromagnetic radiation, in the form of ultraviolet radiation, visible light, and infrared radiation.

Department of Information and Communications Engineering
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Spectrophotometry

Spectrophotometry focuses on measuring the amount of light that a sample or an object absorbs or reflects as a function of wavelength using an instrument known as a spectrophotometer.

Department of Information and Communications Engineering
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Electrical instrumentation

Off-the-shelf measurement equipment are not always available, and dedicated measurement devices are often built at Metrology Research Institute.

Department of Information and Communications Engineering

Latest publications

Cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic measurement of HTO in water vapor

Juho Karhu, Markus Nyman, Marja Siitari-Kauppi, Tuomas Hieta 2023 Photoacoustics

General V(λ) mismatch index: History, current state and new ideas

U. Krüger, A. Ferrero, A. Thorseth, V. Mantela, A. Sperling 2023 Lighting Research and Technology

D5 : Evaluation of a complementary general V(λ) mismatch index

Anders Thorseth, Udo Krüger, Alejandro Ferrero, Ville Mantela, Armin Sperling, Olivier Pellegrino 2023

Effect of adaptive control on the LED street luminaire lifetime and on the lifecycle costs of a lighting installation

J. Askola, P. Kärhä, H. Baumgartner, S. Porrasmaa, E. Ikonen 2022 Lighting Research and Technology

Improvement In The Temporal Light Artefact Metrics Of Commercial Led Lamps

Erkki Ikonen, Roope Nordlund, Ville Mantela, Janne Askola, Petri Kärhä 2022

Cantilever-enhanced Photoacoustic Detector for Light-absorbing Aerosols

Juho Karhu, Joel Kuula, Aki Virkkula, Hilkka Timonen, Markku Vainio, Tuomas Hieta 2022 Laser Applications to Chemical, Security and Environmental Analysis, LACSEA 2022

In-Space Radiometric Calibration of Nanosatellite Camera

Olli Knuuttila, Esa Kallio, Noora Partamies, Mikko Syrjäsuo, Kirsti Kauristie, Viktoria Sofieva, Ari-Matti Harri, Antti Kestilä, Jarmo Kivekäs, Petri Koskimaa, Jouni Rynö, Johanna Tamminen, Petri Kärhä, Juha-Matti Lukkari, Arno Alho, Tuija Pulkkinen 2022 JOURNAL OF SMALL SATELLITES

Characterization of predictable quantum efficient detector at 488 nm and 785 nm wavelengths with an order of magnitude change of incident optical power

Mikhail Korpusenko, Farshid Manoocheri, Olli Pekka Kilpi, Aapo Varpula, Markku Kainlauri, Tapani Vehmas, Mika Prunnila, Erkki Ikonen 2022 Measurement Science and Technology
More information on our research in the Research database.
Research database

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