For physical reasons, cold cathode sensors are subject to increased wear due to self-sputtering in the pressure range above 1x10-4 mbar. The new generation of Smartline vacuum transmitters VSI (cold cathode) and VSM (Pirani/cold cathode) from Thyracont Vacuum Instruments GmbH has significantly increased the service life of these sensors by reducing the high voltage of their cold cathodes towards high pressures.
The service life of the new sensors was up to three times longer in the endurance test at 1x10-3 mbar. In addition, the wear status of the sensor and an operating hours counter for predictive maintenance can now be queried by software command. Typical areas of application for the vacuum transmitters are coating, analytics, medical technology and vacuum furnaces.
