New enhanced performance low-pressure capacitance manometer

The measurement performance of low-pressure capacitance manometers has traditionally been influenced to varying degrees by many factors including ambient temperature change, shock, vibration, material creep, and rapid pressure excursions. Many improvements and developments have occurred since the original capacitance manometer technology was commercialized over 40 years ago. Previous capacitance manometer designs addressed several of these pressure-independent influences, but in the process, tradeoff performance in other areas. A new enhanced performance design is described here that incorporates several unique approaches to reducing these influences and provides for a practical, robust platform. Experimental data and computer simulation show that measurements using instruments with full-scale ranges of 100 mTorr (∼10 Pa) and below are superior to that of previous state-of-the-art methods. The enhanced performance capacitance manometer design establishes a basis for continual improvement and a path to meet the future requirements of the vacuum community.