| AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Vacuum Technology | Monday Sessions |
| Session VT-MoA |
| Session: | Extreme High Vacuum |
| Presenter: | James A. Fedchak, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
| Authors: | J. Fedchak, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) J. Scherschligt, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) M.S. Sefa, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and extreme-high vacuum (XHV) underpins much of the manufacturing and research found in today’s high-tech products and advanced research programs. Several National Metrology Institutes have high-vacuum standards that allow the calibration of vacuum gauges and mass spectrometers down to 10-8 torr, but few have capabilities to perform absolute calibrations in the UHV and below. To date, most vacuum standards utilize the dynamic expansion technique. Low vacuum pressure is realized by scaling down a known high pressure to a low pressure region via an orifice with well-characterized dimensions . Although these standards are often described as being “primary”, these standards are not, in fact, either primary or fundamental. Here, we describe NIST’s efforts to build a UHV/XHV standard covering the pressure range from 10-8 torr to 10-12 torr. We will pose and propose and answer to the question: Is it possible to build an absolute vacuum sensor that is also a primary standard in the UHV and XHV?