Wüest M. 51 Wykes M. 82 Yamaguchi M. 17 Ybarra G. 129 Yubero F ...

JUNE 26 MONDAY AFTERNOON
WS-18-MoA.INV.4 CALIBRATION OF PRESSURE SENSORS IN AN INDUSTRIAL
ENVIRONMENT. M. Wüest, INFICON Ltd., Alte Landstrasse 6, LI-9496 Balzers, Liechtenstein
National Measurements Institutes calibrate vacuum pressure sensors a few gauges at a time in a laborious
and time consuming fashion resulting in an accurate calibration with small error estimates. A
manufacturer produces a comparatively large number of sensors a day which must be economically
calibrated. Therefore, a manufacturer of vacuum pressure gauges can not spend the same amount of
time at a calibration. Here, we describe a procedure to calibrate vacuum gauges rapidly and cost efficiently.
Maintaining the calibration in an industrial environment is another challenge. Vacuum
gauges are calibrated in the factory in a clean environment with nitrogen. However, during the use of
the gauge, the sensor may encounter an environment which causes coating or etching of sensor elements.
This leads to degradation of the sensor with time and inaccurate pressure readings, but may
be difficult to detect. I will describe examples of contamination and some of the counter measures.
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