International comparison of quantum AC voltage standards for frequencies up to 100 kHz

This paper presents results of an international comparison of two quantum AC voltage standards based on pulse-driven Josephson arrays. The two systems differ in several hardware and software characteristics as well as in the level of automation, features which can influence the accuracy of transferring the quantum-standard voltage value to a calibrated instrument. The comparison was performed at 100 mV, 20 mV and 12 mV, at frequencies between 2.5 kHz and 100 kHz. An electronically-aided thermal transfer standard was used as a travelling standard. At the most accurate voltage and frequency point, 100 mV at 2.5 kHz, both laboratories agreed to better than 1 part in 10⁶.     

Accurate measurement of millimeter-wave attenuation from 75 GHz to 110 GHz using a dual-channel heterodyne receiver

A dual-channel millimeter-wave attenuation measurement system from 75 GHz to 110 GHz using a heterodyne receiver is described. The millimeter-wave attenuation is derived from the voltage ratio at 5.02 kHz using an inductive voltage divider as a reference standard. The measurement uncertainties are estimated to be 0.015–0.030 dB for attenuation ranging from 0 dB to 70 dB at 110 GHz. Measurement results of a waveguide rotary vane attenuator with 0–70 dB attenuation steps at 110 GHz are presented.     

Method, algorithm and device for estimation of components above the harmonic frequency range up to 9 kHz

The paper presents a method of estimation of frequency groups with 200 Hz bandwidth in the frequency range from the 50th harmonic up to 9 kHz. The method consists of the application of a fast Fourier transform (FFT) for wavelet coefficients after input signal decomposition and partial synthesis for chosen frequency bands. It enables the computational complexity of the algorithm to be reduced and also attenuates influence of the fundamental component and low-frequency harmonics, as required by IEC Standard 61000-4-7. The particulars of this method are shown and analysis for a chosen wavelet family is provided. Further, the algorithm and its implementation in real device for power quality monitoring is presented. Finally, the results of measurements of two testing signals are shown. The required attenuation of fundamental component and required accuracy was obtained.     

Range expansion of the reference torque wrench calibration service to 5 kN m at NMIJ

The reference torque wrench (RTW) calibration service within the range from 5 N m to 1 kN m has been provided to industry by the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Reflecting the strong demand from Japanese industry, the calibration range was extended to 5 kN m. First, a high-precision torque transducer in the form of a torque wrench with a rated capacity of 5 kN m was developed in order to establish a calibration method for such a large RTW. Second, the calibration method was investigated using a deadweight type torque standard machine with a rated capacity of 20 kN m as a reference standard. Aimed expanded calibration range is from 200 N m to 5 kN m. As a result of calibration experiment using three transducers having different rated capacities, a relative expanded uncertainty of less than 7.0 × 10⁻⁵ could be obtained at a certain calibration point in the best case.     

Experimental investigation into the effects of exciter motions on the primary calibration of single-ended accelerometer

It is widely known that in the primary calibration of accelerometers by using a laser interferometer, a device under test (DUT) and the laser interferometer should measure vibration at the same reference position. However, this is not applicable to single-ended accelerometers because of the limitation of their design. One way of overcoming this limitation is to measure the vibration at several positions on the exciter table surface which connects DUT to a vibration exciter. However this can present the effects of rocking motions of the exciter. Although the motions of vibration exciters are presented in several studied, the different model of exciters might have different characteristics. This paper aims to study the motions of an air-bearing exciter (model 2911) used at National Institute of Metrology (Thailand) in order to expose their characteristics, their effects on the calibration results and the measurement errors due to these effects. The motions of the exciter are shown in terms of magnitude and phase shift distributions of sensitivities. These can be obtained by measuring the magnitudes and phase shifts at several positions on the exciter surface. The effects of exciter motions are measured in terms of how much the magnitudes and phase shifts at each measured positions deviate from the average values. To illustrate these effects, parametric studies were conducted. The influences of four parameters, i.e. the angular positions of the laser points, the distance of the laser positions from the centre of the exciter surface, the number of measured positions to be averaged and the mass loading effect, were examined experimentally. The frequency of interest is between 10 Hz and 15 kHz.     

Evaluation of actual sensitivity limit in a 10 N·m dead weight torque standard machine and stability of a new 1 N·m torque transducer

A 10 N·m dead weight torque standard machine (10-N·m-DWTSM) has been under development at NMIJ/AIST since 2006 to expand the range of the torque standard. Estimation of the sensitivity limit of the fulcrum is one of the most important issues to realize a precise reference torque of small capacity by using a dead weight torque standard machine. In this study, a torque transducer was installed on the 10-N·m-DWTSM in order to keep the moment-arm on the horizontal line (balancing). The sensitivity limit of the fulcrum under real calibration conditions was estimated by reading the change in the output from the torque measuring device (TMD: the torque transducer with a cable and an indicating device) when small weights were loaded or unloaded. The small weights used in the experiment were 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 10 mg, and 100 mg. Equivalent radial loads from 0.1 N·m to 10 N·m were imposed on the fulcrum during the sensitivity measurement.     

Automatic bridge for comparison of inductance standards

A high-precision multi-range unbalanced transformer bridge KWL5 designed for calibration of standard inductors of the same nominal value is described. The basic theory of the bridge is presented. Design, application and characterisation of the instrument which enables the direct measurement of differences of both impedance components (real and imaginary) is presented. The instrument was designed to compare inductors of values from 100 μH to 10 H in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 kHz with the smallest uncertainty possible. Repeatability of the results obtained by the use of the KWL5 bridge is better than 10 ppm. Coherence equal to or better than 5 ppm for frequency range up to 10 kHz was obtained.     

Estimating uncertainty of measurements for cavitation detection in a centrifugal pump

Measurement of noise and vibration signal in audible frequency range to detect cavitation in centrifugal pumps is rather unknown technique. There were already some studies performed on this technique and they showed quite good results. Due to many factors that influence the quality of the measurement, an uncertainty analysis should be performed. This paper deals with estimation of a measurement uncertainty for different kinds of measurement ways to detect the cavitation in a centrifugal pump with noise and vibration signal in audible frequency range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Especially the measurement uncertainties for cavitation detection in broad frequency range and at a discrete frequency were analyzed. Results showed that this technique is reliable despite many possible influences on uncertainty.     

Accelerated nano-fretting testing of Si(1 0 0)

A nano-fretting test technique has been recently developed to enable the in situ study of wear at the micro- and nano-scale. It has been used to study the small scale wear of Si(1 0 0) using a 4.6 μm spheroconical indenter as test probe over the applied load range 30-300 mN. Contact damage assessment by in situ measurements of probe displacement were supplemented by post-test SEM imaging and wear scar analysis by confocal microscopy. The wear behaviour was dependent on the rate of initial loading. When the load was applied abruptly (<0.3 s), radial and lateral cracking and material removal was observed and large displacement jumps (pop-ins) were observed during the subsequent 1000 s constant load nano-fretting test. The crack morphology was very similar to that in repetitive nano-impact tests and conventional nanoindentation at higher applied load with the same probe. In contrast, when the load was applied more slowly (10 s) radial cracking was not observed and there was a distinct threshold load (∼100 mN) marking the transition to a more severe wear mode with extensive lateral cracking and material removal.     

Complex permittivity measurement using capacitance method from 300 kHz to 50 MHz

Complex permittivity measurement has been performed using a parallel plate capacitor and a vector network analyzer (VNA) from 300 kHz to 50 MHz. The material under test (MUT) is a flat and thin sample clamped between the capacitor plates and connected to the VNA to obtain its two port S parameters. The S parameter is converted into impedance to calculate the complex permittivity using Matlab program. Techniques used to overcome the air gap and stray capacitance was described. Measurement obtained using the proposed method was compared with the free space method to validate its accuracy. The percent difference is less than 5%.     

Vibration effect on hardness measurement

In this paper, the effect of ground vibration on hardness measurement, Rockwell scale C hardness, Vickers scale HV1 hardness and Leeb hardness is studied. The hardness machines were placed on the vibration table. The vibration signal is single frequency sinusoidal wave, which frequency and amplitude of vibration can be controlled. The hardness value at free from vibration state is used as a reference to calculate the error of each hardness measurement at certain frequency and amplitude. Two Rockwell hardness testing machines are used to measure hardness blocks: 20, 40, and 60 HRC. Both machines give the same tendency. Significant negative errors occur around frequency 5–15 Hz. Moreover, ground vibration has more impact on the soft range of hardness than hard range. The result from this paper can be used as guideline for laboratory to control environmental vibration amplitude to be less than 0.01 m/s² for frequency (10 ± 5) Hz and 0.05 m/s² for other in Rockwell scale C hardness measurement. Effect of vibration on Vickers and Leeb hardness measurement is preliminarily studied. Results on 200 HV1 and 900 HV1 measurement show that vibration creates peak of error at frequency 20 Hz of amplitude more than 0.01 m/s² and the effect can be observable at all frequency for amplitude of 0.04 m/s². Different from Rockwell and Vickers, Leeb hardness measurement is not influenced by vibration in this experiment.     

MoS2(0 0 0 1)/MoO3(0 1 0)/MoS2(0 0 0 1) friction-reducing system

A system of MoO₃(0 1 0) nanocrystals confined between MoS₂(0 0 0 1) surfaces is reported. MoO₃(0 1 0) nanocrystals act as friction-reducing materials between MoS₂(0 0 0 1) surfaces, where the frictional coefficient is an extremely small value of 0.005. This lubricated system is very promising for use in movable parts of nano- and micromachines because it works under ambient conditions.     

Noise floor and dynamic range analysis of a microwave attenuation measurement receiver from 50 MHz to 26.5 GHz

The noise floor and dynamic range of a proposed voltage-ratio based microwave attenuation measurement receiver are analysed. The thermal noise and phase noise effect on attenuation measurement is studied. For frequencies higher than 1 GHz, the receiver employs a lock-in amplifier with a coherent frequency reference to minimize the phase noise effect and achieve very wide dynamic range of attenuation measurement. The equivalent noise floor at the receiver mixer output port is found to be around −172 dBm. The dynamic range of the receiver is 181-175 dB from 50 MHz to 26.5 GHz. Measurement results of a 0-170 dB synthesized step attenuator at 26 GHz is given to verify the performance of the proposed receiver.     

Fabrication and characterization of a new MEMS fluxgate sensor with nanocrystalline magnetic core

This paper presents a new MEMS fluxgate sensor with a Fe-based nanocrystalline ribbon magnetic core and 3D micro-solenoid coils. The excitation coils were placed vertically to the sensing coil on the chip plane. Second harmonic operation principle was adopted in this fluxgate sensor. The total size of the fluxgate sensor was 6.25 mm × 4.85 mm × 120 μm. A simple testing system was established to characterize the fabricated devices. A band pass filter was used to pick up the second harmonic signals in the sensing coils. When excitation rms current of 120 mA and the operational frequency of 200 kHz were selected for the testing of the fabricated devices, the sensitivity of the developed fluxgate sensor was 1005 V/T in the linear range of −500 μT to +500 μT. Due to the combination of the 3D structure coils with the nanocrystalline core, relatively low sensor noise was achieved. The noise power density was 544 pT/Hz^0.5@1 Hz and the noise rms level was 9.68 nT in the frequency range of 25 mHz-10 Hz.     

A Functional Generator

A synchronizing generator of triangular, sine-wave, and rectangular signals with variable frequencies and amplitudes is described. The main generator of triangular signals is complemented with a functional converter to obtain a sine function using the piecewise-linear approximation. The frequency of generated signals is continuously regulated within the bands of 10–100 Hz, 100–1000 Hz, 1–10 kHz, and 10–100 kHz. The signal amplitudes are continuously varied between 0 and 10 V. The nonlinear distortion factor of the sine signal is within 0.5%.     

A traceable technique to calibrate dc current shunts and resistors in the range from 10 μΩ to 10 mΩ

A traceable to dc resistance and dc voltage National Standards measurement technique to calibrate dc current shunts and resistors in the range from 10 μΩ to 10 mΩ has been developed at National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) in addition to the primary reference system for low value resistors calibration. This technique is applicable in secondary and industrial metrological laboratories. It is based on a volt-amperometric method, to compare an unknown shunt with a standard one in 1:1 or 1:10 ratios. In the setup are involved: a dc current calibrator and a current generator to supply currents respectively up to 100 A and up to 1200 A, with a switch to reverse the current, two 7 1/2 digit nanovoltmeters (nVs) for the acquisition of the voltage on the standard and under calibration shunts and two Tinsley 100 μΩ and 1 mΩ standard shunts kept in mineral oil and with a cooling system. An optional variation in the procedure that can reduce the measurement uncertainties is discussed. The 2σ relative capabilities of the technique span from 6.0 × 10⁻⁶to 4.6 × 10⁻⁴. Compatibility results with the INRIM reference measurement system for low value resistors calibration are also given.     

A microcontroller-based variable voltage variable frequency sinusoidal power source with a novel PWM generation strategy

The present paper describes the development of a low cost, microcontroller-based variable voltage variable frequency sinusoidal power source, which is the demand of the day for various applications. The power source is developed using MOSFET H-bridge inverter and with a stand alone LCD display system. The design methodology proposes to utilize a novel concept of generating sinusoidal pulse width modulation signals for the driver circuit of the inverter. The system proposes to incorporate a ROM-based LUT within the power source itself for the sinusoidal signal generation with enhanced stability. This low cost, yet accurate power source has been successfully developed for wide range of voltage commands (30-80 V rms) and frequency commands (40-70 Hz), and their real-life performances in voltage wave generation were also found to be quite satisfactory.     

Evaluation of moment arm length and fulcrum sensitivity limit in a 10 N·m dead weight torque standard machine

Many torque tools, such as torque wrenches and torque screwdrivers, as well as torque measuring devices (TMDs) with a rated capacity of less than 5 N·m are being widely used in industry. Thus, a small-rated-capacity torque standard has to be established as soon as possible. A 10 N·m dead weight torque standard machine (10 N·m DWTSM) has been under development since 2006 at the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ), part of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Characteristically, the main parts of the moment arm are made of low thermal-expansion alloy (Super INVAR), and an aerostatic bearing is employed as the fulcrum supporting the moment arm to minimize rotational friction. The moment arm was evaluated with regard to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), the lengths measured by a 3D coordinate measurement machine (CMM), and temperature correction realized by measuring the moment arm temperature. The sensitivity limit of the fulcrum in the 10 N·m DWTSM was also estimated. As a result, the apparent overall CTE of the moment arm was 1.06 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹, and the expanded uncertainty was 2.24 × 10⁻⁹ K⁻¹ (k = 2). The results of the CMM measurement were a right-hand side length of 510.2773 mm and a left-hand side length of 510.2657 mm, with a relative expanded uncertainty of 4.0 × 10⁻⁵ (k = 2). The moment arm temperature increased by approximately 0.6 K during the ordinary calibration process. The corresponding change in the lengths of the moment arm was estimated to be approximately 0.3 μm, which is considered to be sufficiently small compared with the expanded uncertainty of the lengths of the moment arm. The fulcrum of the 10 N·m DWTSM was found to have sufficient sensitivity under three conditions: without the weight loading components, with the weight loading components, and with loaded weights. In particular, the fulcrum had sufficient sensitivity of at least 0.5 mg when weights of 100 g were loaded on both 5th stages in the weight loading components to generate a radial load equivalent to 1 N·m.     

VIBRATION MEASUREMENT OF DOUBLE-ENDED TUNING FORKS RESONATOR

To enhance the coherence and reliability of the double-ended tuning fork (DETF) resonator, a measurement system of resonator vibration is presented to check its dynamic characteristics. Laser Doppler techniques are utilized and the relation between DETF vibration velocity and output current of photodetector is obtained. Resonator vibration equation is also analyzed and its driving power only depends on the direct current bias voltage and the amplitude of alternative voltage. Furthermore, a special resonator driving control circuit based on measurement is designed. The amplitude and frequency of circuit is controlled by a computer so that highly stable and strong driving signal can be output. Experiments on driving and measuring double-ended tuning fork have been done. The frequency of driving signal is 8 kHz and the peak-to-peak value of driving voltage is 140 V. Experimental results indicate resonator can be drived stably by driving control circuit and dynamic characteristics of DETF may be measured in real time.