Wide Pressure Range Measurement due to the Exchange of Heater Driving of the Temperature Difference Sensor

Abstract

We have extended measurable pressure range of the thin film Pirani vacuum sensor that is still sensitive above 1×10⁵ Pa (1 atmosphere). In our thin film Pirani vacuum sensor, our proposed temperature difference sensor of the short circuit Seebeck-current detection type thermocouple is used in order to get extremely high sensitivity, especially both in very low pressure range and in higher pressure range than 1×10⁴ Pa. In our new pressure sensor the cantilever type sensing region, in which a microheater and two thermocouples are formed to measure the temperature difference, is adopted. Therefore, we can use the null method to measure very small pressure accurately in the high vacuum range (low pressure range). On the other hand in the higher pressure than 1×10⁴ Pa., we could expand the pressure range by adoption of the vibration of the sensing cantilever based on the sudden heating due to the exchange of heater driving. We have achieved much wider measurable pressure range over 8 digits by use of our new simple thin film Pirani vacuum sensor than that of the traditional one.