Single wire transmission from HV environments of temperature measurements obtained with a smart sensor

The continuous progress in vacuum technology poses every day more stringent requirements on the measurements to be performed inside evacuated vessels. In this context, the adoption of new technologies combining “smart sensors” and “single wire transmission protocols” could be very advantageous, allowing sophisticated measurements to be performed with local intelligence and a minimum of cabling to send the data out of the vacuum chambers. In this paper, the tests aimed at qualifying a “smart temperature sensor” and a “single wire transceiver” for operation in High Vacuum (HV) conditions are reported. Pressure measurements and Residual Gas Analysis confirm that the chosen components do not pose any serious issue for matching HV standards. The combined use of the smart sensor and the transceiver to implement a sophisticated, compact, cost effective and versatile measuring system for vacuum environments is demonstrated. The prospects of the proposed solution are very promising and can be extended to a great variety of applications.