Leakage current detection in cryogenic current comparator bridges

Several tests have been developed to locate leakage currents in cryogenic current comparator (CCC) resistance ratio bridges used at NIST to measure ratios of 1000 Ω/100 Ω, 6453.2 Ω/100 Ω, and 10 kΩ/100 Ω. The major advantage of the tests is that they can be performed in situ using the sensitivity of the CCC bridge. These test procedures have been used to reduce the leakage error uncertainty of CCC ratio measurements, linking working standards to the quantized Hall resistance (QHR) and to the NIST calculable capacitor experiment. CCC bridges require that the current which passes through a standard resistor must equal the current through the appropriate CCC winding to very high precision. This can be difficult to verify at or below 1 pA because a large number of possible leakage paths exist. Errors due to six important leakage current paths are given, and the calculated changes in the resistance ratio are compared with measurements made with a controlled leakage resistance in a 100 Ω/1 Ω CCC bridge