Ixthus helps market capacitance gauges

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team Oct 23, 2008

Ixthus Instrumentation has provided sales and technical support to ADE Technologies, the US-based capacitive gauge and sensor specialist.

The 12-page Introduction to Capacitance Gauges now available from Ixthus provides an overview of this technology.

ADE's range of capacitance gauges, sensors and instruments are used for high and ultra-high precision measurement in typical resolution ranges of 0.1 to 50nm over distances up to 10mm.

Capacitive probes are highly durable non-contact devices and have a long-life.

Their high bandwidth is suited to continuous and rapid position feedback in servo systems as well as exacting and highly stable dimension measurement for metrology.

ADE has developed a guard field that shields the sensor element, overcoming undesirable interaction with unwanted grounded surfaces and electric fields that can cause problems in measurement consistency.

Capacitance gauges and sensors are being used more commonly because of the advent of nanotechnology and MEMS device manufacture and the high standards required for high precision measurement of manufactured goods.

Single or multiple probes are used by end users and OEMs as part of metrology and calibration systems or for high precision position feedback in manufacturing and test equipment.

It is possible to apply the technology in mediums of oil, as well as ambient air and vacuum.

Applications for capacitive gauges and sensors include focal plane control on optical systems, precision spindle run-out for rotating machine condition monitoring, accuracy measurement of linear and rotary position stages (positional, flatness, straightness) and vibration measurement systems.

They can be used in critical thickness measurement of wafers for semiconductor manufacture and similar applications found in flat panel, photovoltaic and DVD manufacture.

Most consist of dual fixed capacitive gauge heads measuring the differential distance and the flatness of substrates, which are traversed through the probe heads and measured in several positions, with a thickness of 120-500 micron and resolution to 0.01 micron.