Abstract
At the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) an automatable precision DC voltage fixed-ratios divider allowing the division ratios of DC Voltages from 10:1 to 107:1. It can be quickly calibrated when necessary and involved in traceability transfer. Its resistors are selected bulk metal foils ones connected in series in four terminal configuration whose values are 90 kΩ, 9 kΩ, 900 Ω, 90 Ω, 9 Ω, 0.9 Ω, 90 mΩ and 10 mΩ. The main advantage of this divider is that it can be automatically calibrated with a calibrator and a digital multimeter. Its calibration starts from a10 V value. It takes advantage of the DMM linearity, in particular in the 10 V range that allows improving its calibration uncertainty. After calibration, it can be used to divide DC Voltages lower than 10 V. Preliminary evaluation of its calibration uncertainties and mid-term stabilities (a week) span respectively from 1.4×10-6 to 6.0×10-4 and from 2.4×10-7 to 4.5×10-4 for ratios from 10:1 to 107:1. This divider could be involved in the calibration of nanovoltmeters in a typical range from 10 V till down to 100 nV.
Highlights
Today the traceability from the DC Voltage standard to low and ultra-low values is still a challenge due to the needs in research, nanotechnology and medical frameworks
National and high level secondary laboratories have used for calibration of digital multi-meters (DMMs) and multifunction calibrators (MFCs) commercial high precision manually operating DC voltage dividers [1, 2] or a recently developed automated fixed ratios divider [3]
Effective guarded dividers were developed for high accuracy DC voltage applications [4, 5] for high voltages [6,7,8,9,10]
Summary
Today the traceability from the DC Voltage standard to low and ultra-low values is still a challenge due to the needs in research, nanotechnology and medical frameworks. National and high level secondary laboratories have used for calibration of digital multi-meters (DMMs) and multifunction calibrators (MFCs) commercial high precision manually operating DC voltage dividers [1, 2] or a recently developed automated fixed ratios divider [3]. The widespread instrument to measure low DC Voltages is the nanovoltmeter. National Measurement Institutes (NMIs) nanovoltmeters are calibrated vs the Josephson Voltage Standards (JVS) changing the microwave frequency [11, 12]. This choice is expensive and time consuming. At National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) an automatable multiple decade ratios precision divider has been built which is currently being automated
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