AVS 66th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Vacuum Technology Division Monday Sessions
       Session VT-MoM

Paper VT-MoM4
The NIST VAcuum LEaks System (VALES): a new system for the primary and comparison calibration of small gas flows.

Monday, October 21, 2019, 9:20 am, Room A213

Session: Pumping, Outgassing, leaks, and Vacuum Pressure Measurement
Presenter: Julia Scherschligt, National Institute of Sandards and Technology (NIST)
Authors: J. Scherschligt, National Institute of Sandards and Technology (NIST)
J.A. Fedchak, National Institute of Sandards and Technology (NIST)
R. Vest, National Institute of Sandards and Technology (NIST)
Correspondent: Click to Email
Helium leak standards for low molecular flow rates are critical to the calibration of leak detectors, gas analyzers, and other equipment used in vacuum, aerospace, and space industries. Since 1984, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has provided calibration services for the calibration of vacuum leak standards using two independent systems: The Primary Leak System (PLS), which calibrates leak artifacts against a flow meter, and the Leak Comparison Standard (LCS) which compares a customer leak to a NIST owned leak artifact as a function of temperature. The PLS system has recently been upgraded with a new mass-sensitive detector (a quadupole mass analyzer or QMA). The LCS has been retired from service but its functionality has been efficiently replicated on PLS. In this talk, we will describe the new calibration system, VALES, present recent results on the characterization of the new PLS detector and discus the on-going upgrade and automation of the entire calibration system