Thermal conductivity gauge
AssigneeMKS Instruments, Inc.
InventorsGerardo A. Brucker, Timothy C. Swinney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermal conductivity gauge measures gas pressure within a chamber. A sensor wire and a resistor form a circuit coupled between a power input and ground, where the sensor wire extends into the chamber and connects to the resistor via a terminal. A controller adjusts the power input, as a function of a voltage at the terminal and a voltage at the power input, to bring the sensor wire to a target temperature. Based on the adjusted power input, the controller can determine a measure of the gas pressure within the chamber.
Claims16
A thermal conductivity gauge for measuring gas pressure, comprising:
- a sensor wire within a chamber coupled to a terminal and a grounded envelope encompassing a volume of the chamber;
- a resistor coupled between the terminal and an electrical input receiving a power input;
- and
- a controller configured to 1) apply the power input to the resistor;
- 2) adjust the power input to bring the sensor wire to a target temperature;
- and 3) determine a measure of gas pressure within the chamber based on an adjusted power input at the target temperature.
A thermal conductivity gauge for measuring gas pressure, comprising:
- a sensor wire within a chamber coupled to a terminal and a grounded envelope encompassing a volume of the chamber, the terminal connected to a gauge circuit;
- and the gauge circuit connected to the terminal, the gauge circuit including:
- a resistor coupled between the terminal and an electrical input receiving a power input;
- and a controller configured to 1) apply the power input to the resistor;
- 2) adjust the power input to bring the sensor wire to a target temperature;
- and 3) determine a measure of gas pressure within the chamber based on an adjusted power input at the target temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.