1-A and-120 mA thin-film multijunction thermal converters

Author

Laiz, Héctor ; Wunsch, Thomas F. ; Kinard, Joseph R. ; Lipe, Thomas E.

Author_Institution

Inst. Nacional de Tecnologia Ind., Martin, Argentina

Volume

54

Issue

2

fYear

2005

fDate

4/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

803

Lastpage

806

Abstract

We report on the development of thin-film multijunction thermal converters for the measurement of AC currents up to 10 A without relying on parallel current shunts. The materials and designs chosen for these devices have been optimized to provide high accuracy over a wide range of input levels and frequencies. Preliminary measurements on a 10-A chip made with a copper-gold heater indicate that its ac-dc difference is nearly zero from 10 Hz to 100 kHz, and that the AC-DC difference is independent of input current level.

Keywords

electric current measurement; measurement standards; thin film devices; 0.010 to 100 kHz; 1 A; 120 mA; ac currents measurement; ac-dc difference; copper-gold heater; current converter; multijunction thermal converters; parallel current shunts; thermal converter; thermoelement; thin film; Current measurement; Frequency; Impedance; Resistance heating; Semiconductor device measurement; Skin effect; Temperature sensors; Thermal resistance; Transistors; Voltage; AC–DC difference; current converter; thermal converter; thermal current converter; thermoelement;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9456

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TIM.2004.843354

Filename

1408293