In situ measurement of ceramic vacuum chamber conductive coating quality

Abstract

A method for measuring the relative surface resistivity and quality of conductive coatings on ceramic vacuum chambers was developed. This method is unique in that it allows one to test the coating even after the ceramic chamber is installed in the accelerator and under vacuum; furthermore, the measurement provides a localized surface reading of the coating conductance. The method uses a magnetic probe of wire wound on a ferrite and an LCR meter. The probe is calibrated using the measured DC end-to-end resistance of the tube under test and by comparison to a high quality test surface. The measurement method has also been verified by comparison to high frequency impedance measurements. A detailed description, results, and sensitivity of the technique are given here.