A new method for detecting vacuum leakage of a pressure sensor using a pulse discharge technique

A new method for estimating the degree of vacuum of a pressure sensor has been proposed and demonstrated to be applicable for detecting vacuum leakage. The principle of this method is based on the discharge characteristics of Paschen’s law. The shielding body case and the electrode terminals in the sensor are employed as the electrodes for the discharge. The discharge potential is measured under a linearly increasing voltage supply, and from this value the pressure in the sensor is estimated. The measurable range is between 80 and 200 Pa, leakage in pressure sensors