Journal of Power Electronics

The Korean Institute of Power Electronics (전력전자학회)
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Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier-based argon vacuum gauge for high-temperature applications

  • P. N. Sidhartha (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani) ;
  • Tejus V. Kusur (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani) ;
  • Sarda Sharma (Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham) ;
  • Karumbaiah N. Chappanda (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani)
  • Received : 2022.08.11
  • Accepted : 2023.08.28
  • Published : 2024.01.20
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Abstract

A cost-effective argon atmosphere vacuum gauge based on direct current (DC) excited glow discharge plasma for harsh environmental conditions is presented in this paper. The gauge comprises two copper electrodes separated by a pre-defined gap (1 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, or 15 mm) excited with a 1.8 kV DC supply using a Cockcroft-Walton (CW) voltage multiplier circuit to measure vacuum pressures from 0.05 to 5 mbar. After gas breakdown has occurred, the voltage across the electrodes (plasma voltage response) is measured with a change in pressure. The proposed gauge with a 5 mm electrode gap showed an average sensitivity of 276 V/mbar with excellent thermal stability from 25 to 400 ℃. The hysteresis of the gauge is 11% over the full scale and shows an average plasma voltage response deviation of 0.9 mV/h with time when tested for 10 h under a continuous mode of operation. Overall, the device shows promise in the development of a low-cost vacuum gauge with good sensitivity and excellent immunity to high-temperature environments.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the Science and Engineering Research Board for their financial support of this project. The project grant number is SRG/2019/001378.

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