Luminescence is a process of light emission which sometimes strongly
depends on external factors such as pressure, temperature, index of
refraction… We use this property in the frame of contactless
thermometry in various applications such as analysis of local thermal
and mechanical properties of materials. I will present the various
techniques which can be used and their limitations, and then focused on
sensors based on microdiamonds. They have actually demonstrated great
accuracy (<1 degree at 1kHz) over a wide range of temperature (120 to
700 K), and are now intended to be used to monitor real time temperature
changes during friction for exemple.