Pirani vacuum transducer for wide-range vacuum measurement
PVC4001-C MEMS Pirani vacuum transducer is designed for cost-effective OEM integration, and combines a MEMS thermal conduction sensor, measurement electronics, microprocessor, and an onboard barometric pressure sensor in an ultra-compact PCB assembly with a connector-terminated wire harness.
PVC4001-C operates on the principle that the thermal conductivity of gases is proportional to vacuum pressure. Its electronics and microprocessor amplify and digitalize the sensor signal, and provide output via an I²C interface. For applications requiring calibrated output, users can enter up to 10 pairs of calibration points, which are used by a built-in piecewise linearization algorithm.
PVC4001-C is designed to deliver stable performance across changing operating conditions. A built-in temperature sensor supports a temperature compensation algorithm to offset changes in thermal conductivity caused by ambient temperature variation. In addition, a pulsed excitation scheme—in which the sensor is heated for about 100 ms and then turned off for one second—helps minimize drift due to self-heating in high vacuum, while also reducing power consumption for battery-powered instruments.
PVC4001-C provides a measurement range from 0.001 Torr to 900 Torr (1.3*10-4 kPa to 120 kPa) with a response time of less than 200 ms. Because Pirani vacuum sensors typically lose resolution above 10 Torr, PVC4001-C adds an onboard barometric pressure sensor that supports measurement from 10 Torr to 760 Torr with 5% accuracy across that extended range. This combination makes the device especially well-suited for portable digital vacuum gauges and for leak detection in closed systems maintained under primary vacuum, including vacuum-insulated panels.
Its other capabilities include low power consumption, resistance to contamination, and an of -25 °C to 85 °C operating temperature range.
408-392-0989