Field-Deployable Pressure Standard Based on a Compact Dual-Cavity Refractometer
Abstract
The next-generation pressure standard is moving toward optical-based, field-deployable systems. However, most existing optical refractometry pressure standards rely on bulky ultra-low expansion (ULE) cavities and complex feedback locking, limiting their portability and on-site applicability. Here, we present a miniaturized, transportable optical pressure manometer based on a dual-channel Fabry-Perot cavity machined from a single block of common fused silica. By employing a differential measurement between an evacuated reference cavity and a gas-exposed measurement cavity, common-mode errors such as thermal expansion and pressure-induced deformation are largely canceled, enabling the use of low-cost fused silica to achieve performance comparable to ULE. Radio-frequency scanning with Lorentzian fitting replaces conventional feedback locking, simplifying the optical design and improving robustness. Calibrated against a piston manometer, the device demonstrates a measurement repeatability of 3.4~ppm and a total uncertainty of u = √((10.6×10−6p)2 + (5.4 mPa)2). The system can resolve periodic pressure fluctuations originating from the piston manometer and exhibits superior response speed. With its small footprint, portability, and independence from external frequency references, this fused-silica dual-cavity manometer offers a practical route toward on-site, quantum-traceable pressure calibration.
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BibTeX
@misc{nie2026fielddeployable,
title = {{Field-Deployable Pressure Standard Based on a Compact Dual-Cavity Refractometer}},
author = {Zhong-Liang Nie and Jin Wang and Zi-Fan Zhao and Chang-Le Hu and Shui-Ming Hu},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.11964},
eprint = {2609.11964},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11964},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Field-Deployable Pressure Standard Based on a Compact Dual-Cavity Refractometer
AU - Zhong-Liang Nie
AU - Jin Wang
AU - Zi-Fan Zhao
AU - Chang-Le Hu
AU - Shui-Ming Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.11964
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11964
AB - The next-generation pressure standard is moving toward optical-based, field-deployable systems. However, most existing optical refractometry pressure standards rely on bulky ultra-low expansion (ULE) cavities and complex feedback locking, limiting their portability and on-site applicability. Here, we present a miniaturized, transportable optical pressure manometer based on a dual-channel Fabry-Perot cavity machined from a single block of common fused silica. By employing a differential measurement between an evacuated reference cavity and a gas-exposed measurement cavity, common-mode errors such as thermal expansion and pressure-induced deformation are largely canceled, enabling the use of low-cost fused silica to achieve performance comparable to ULE. Radio-frequency scanning with Lorentzian fitting replaces conventional feedback locking, simplifying the optical design and improving robustness. Calibrated against a piston manometer, the device demonstrates a measurement repeatability of 3.4~ppm and a total uncertainty of u = √((10.6×10^−6p)^2 + (5.4 mPa)^2). The system can resolve periodic pressure fluctuations originating from the piston manometer and exhibits superior response speed. With its small footprint, portability, and independence from external frequency references, this fused-silica dual-cavity manometer offers a practical route toward on-site, quantum-traceable pressure calibration.
ER -