We have an IR thermometer at work, but sometimes I feel like the results aren't completely accurate due to the beam width (especially on small components) or material emissivity.
Another way I've tried is to use a thermocouple temperature sensor from my DMM, but unless I put thermal paste, it wasn't accurate and. Using thermal paste was super messy, and it was hard to keep the thermocouple in place.
Are there any other methods or tricks for accurately and easily measuring temperature of individual components on PCBs?
Best Answer
While any regular glue will work in a pinch, there exist a class of epoxies with enhanced thermal characteristics. Arctic Silver epoxy is one of them and it's available in small quantities from places like Amazon; there are several more - look at any major LED manufacturer's website (not surprisingly, appnotes discussing LED case temperature measurements often contain detailed procedures). Omega also have a family of sticky thermocouples that would work well for your purpose, if you can afford them.