Measurement of high voltage using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

A novel variation of Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) has been utilized to measure a high voltage collected on an aluminum target by Direct Energy Conversion. The maximum high voltage on the target was measured to be 97.5 kV +/- 2 kV. The resistance of the circuit was then calculated based on the current driving different target voltages. The resistance was calculated to be 199.4Gé +/- 5%. It was shown that by simply measuring the neutral particlesâ energy spectra, the voltage on the target and resistance of the circuit can be found with certainty. The experimental data agree well with previous work and with the scattering theory developed. Thus, the capability of RBS has been extended to measure high voltages generated by direct energy conversion; this is something that has not been done before