Report on Non-Contact DC Electric Field Sensors
This document reports on methods used to measure DC electrostatic fields in the range of 100 to 4000 V/m using a non-contact method. The project for which this report is written requires this capability. Non-contact measurements of DC fields is complicated by the effect of the accumulation of random space-charges near the sensors which interfere with the measurement of the field-of-interest and consequently, many forms of field measurements are either limited to AC measurements or use oscillating devices to create pseudo-AC fields. The intent of this document is to report on methods discussed in the literature for non-contact measurement of DC fields. Electric field meters report either the electric field expressed in volts per distance or the voltage measured with respect to a ground reference. Common commercial applications for measuring static (DC) electric fields include measurement of surface charge on materials near electronic equipment to prevent arcing which can destroy sensitive electronic components, measurement of the potential for lightning to strike buildings or other exposed assets, measurement of the electric fields under power lines to investigate potential health risks from exposure to EM fields and measurement of fields emanating from the brain for brain diagnostic purposes. Companies that make electric field sensors include Trek (Medina, NY), MKS Instruments, Boltek, Campbell Systems, Mission Instruments, Monroe Electronics, AlphaLab, Inc. and others. In addition to commercial vendors, there are research activities continuing in the MEMS and optical arenas to make compact devices using the principles applied to the larger commercial sensors.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 971778
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-TR-414129; TRN: US201006%%854
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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