Vaisala BAROCAP ® Sensor

BAROCAP® Absolute Pressure Sensor

 Combines two powerful techniques for
barometric pressure measurement
 Single crystal silicon as the sensor material
 Capacitive sensor principle

 Advantages of single crystal silicon as

pressure sensor material
 Perfect elasticity
– low hysteresis
– excellent repeatability
 Stability
– small temperature dependence
– excellent long-term stability
– mechanical shock resistant

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 Vaisala BAROCAP® Sensor (continued)
Advantages of the capacitive pressure sensor structure

 Wide dynamic range

 Built-in over pressure stop mechanism
 Non-linearity results in good sensitivity at surface pressures
 No warm-up time, fast response

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 Structure of the Vaisala
BAROCAP® Sensor

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 Operation of the BAROCAP® sensor

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 Characteristics of Vaisala
BAROCAP® Sensor
 Operating range
Pressure range 50...1100 hPa abs. / 10 bar (industrial)
Temperature range -55...+80 °C
Humidity range non-condensing
Max. overpressure 10 MPa = 100 bar
 Accuracy
Hysteresis ± 0.02 hPa
Repeatability ± 0.02 hPa
Temperature dependence typ. ± 0.05 hPa/°C
at 1000 hPa (* max. ± 0.10 hPa/°C
Long-term stability < ± 0.1 hPa/year

* Note! The specifications for whole transmitters are far better due to the thermal
compensation and pressure linearization done by the measurement electronics.

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 Long Term Stability
 Calibration history of 15 PTB 220 Barometers
 Used in Vaisala as working and travelling transfer standards
 Summary of the stability collected from the calibration results at Vaisala MSL
 Longest calibration history from September 1995, shortest from September 2000

Cumulative drift calculated from actual calibration data (1000 hPa pressure)

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 Applications

 Direct Pressure Measurements

 Meteorology
 Aviation
 Metrological Pressure Standards
 Pressure Sensitive Industrial Equipment
 Engine test benches

 Indirect Pressure Measurements

 Compressed Air Dewpoint Calculation
 SF6 High Voltage Insulation Gas Leakage

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 Measurement Electronics

 The sensor capacitance is pressure dependent

 The capacitance is measured as frequency
 Higher capacitance (pressure) leads lower output frequency

 Sensor temperature is measured and compensated

 every BAROCAP® is calibrated over full temperature and pressure
range

 Constant reference capacitors in measurement circuit

cancels long-term electronics related drift

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 Why Vaisala BAROCAP® ?

 Excellent long term stability

 Accuracy over complete temperature range
 Reliable single crystal technology, mechanically robust
 Over 25 years track record and experience
 Wide measurement range, fast response

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