NIST has developed a new “primary standard” for measuring extremely low gas pressures called CAVS (cold atom vacuum standard). This technique, validated in a recent study, can make accurate pressure measurements without needing calibration to reference standards. CAVS uses a cold gas of atoms trapped in a magnetic field, whose fluorescence is measured to determine pressure. The new method can measure pressures as low as a trillionth of Earth’s atmospheric pressure, making it useful for semiconductor manufacturing, quantum computing, and other high-vacuum applications. The technique is based on quantum physics principles and can operate accurately “right out of the box.”
Keywords: gas pressure, cold atom, vacuum standard, quantum mechanics
