MEMS gauges deliver high accuracy and reliability at lower cost

Posifa Technologies has introduced its new PVC6100 series of MEMS Pirani gauges for atmosphere (ATM) to medium vacuum applications. Delivering a wide range from 10-4 Torr to ATM, the gauges offer high accuracy and long-term stability while providing an interchangeable probe and customisable output voltages to reduce the total cost of ownership for users by eradicating the requirement for calibration of replacement probes.

The devices will be employed in freeze dryers, mass spectrometers, distillation equipment, cryogenic cylinders and tanks, vacuum furnaces, and load-lock vacuum systems. To ensure precision and uniformity in these products, the gauges' sensing element is based on the company's second-generation thermal conductivity chip, which is produced with world-class microfabrication processes. The sensor chip measures thermal conductance in an embedded cavity with an integrated thermopile for excellent sensitivity and repeatability.

With a low internal heater temperature only slightly above the ambient, the series gauges are far less susceptible to contamination than filament-based devices, allowing higher reliability and longevity. In environments where heavy contamination is unavoidable, users can just replace the devices' interchangeable probe – which is individually calibrated and incorporates the sensing element and digital electronics – to lower system costs and downtime.

The series gauges provide 0V to 10V analog output through their FCC-68/RJ45 connectors. The output voltages can be customised to emulate those from other manufacturers' devices, providing plug-and-play replacement for enhanced performance and decreased total cost of ownership with no need to change system software or connection hardware.