Pressure & vacuum metrology

News and Updates

Scientist working at scientific equipment

Spotlight: The Real-World Applications of Quantum With Julia Scherschligt

April 15, 2024

For NIST physicist Julia Scherschligt, the most exciting thing about quantum is seeing the real-world applications of this science. Julia leads a group that is

Four researchers pose standing in a lab, smiling and wearing safety glasses, surrouded by wires and other electronics.

NIST Demonstrates a New ‘Primary Standard’ for Measuring Ultralow Pressures

August 10, 2023

Chip manufacturing, gravitational wave detectors and quantum computers could all benefit from better ways to measure a vacuum.

A woman in safety glasses stands between rows of metal cylinders.

Spotlight: Physical Scientist Christina Cecelski Goes From In-Flight to In-the-Lab Experiences

April 20, 2023

Coming from flights of fancy (instruments), physical scientist Christina Cecelski has landed at a place that matches her personality: NIST.

Publications

Gas Pressure Calibration from 0.01 Pa to 400000 Pa using a Portable Quantum Traceable Standard

October 8, 2024

Author(s)

Jacob Edmond Ricker, Kevin Douglass, Jay H. Hendricks, Sarah White

NIST has tested a prototype portable quantum traceable pressure standard for the calibration of pressure gauges. The low-pressure limit of this device was

Conversion of a piston--cylinder dimensional dataset to the effective area of a mechanical pressure generator

October 7, 2024

Author(s)

Patrick Egan, Eric S. Stanfield, John R. Stoup, Christopher W. Meyer

Recent developments in diameter metrology at NIST have improved the dimensional characterization of piston–cylinder assemblies (PCAs) to unprecedented precision

Working equation for a Fabry-Perot cavity based optical pressure standard

May 1, 2024

Author(s)

Yuanchao Yang, Patrick Egan, Tom Rubin

From basics of Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator and roundtrip phase, a complete working equation for a FP cavity based optical pressure standard (OPS) is derived and

Optical n(p, T_90) measurement suite 1: He, Ar, and N_2

November 23, 2023

Author(s)

Patrick Egan, Yuanchao Yang

An n(p, T90) measurement suite is reported for the gases helium, argon, and nitrogen. The methodology is optical refractive-index gas metrology, operating at