[volt-nuts] Best way to measure micro Ohms
Charles Steinmetz
csteinmetz at yandex.com
Sun Sep 17 19:41:22 EDT 2017
David wrote:
> Can anyone explain why commercial instruments use DC, despite that small DC
> voltages will be developed by unwanted thermocouples? I would have thought
> that using AC was a no-brainer no very low resistance measurements, but
> commercial instruments don't use to use AC.
Difficulty of measuring AC, compared to DC, is one reason, as has been
mentioned. But the main reason is that skin effect (and usually to a
much lesser extent, inductance) is a significant factor at surprisingly
low frequencies, *particularly* when the expected value is in the micro-
to deci-ohm range.
Also, since you said the waveguide is aluminum (and didn't say anything
about plating), be aware that aluminum exposed to air is covered by a
thin aluminum oxide layer (Al2O3), which forms within seconds after a
new surface is exposed. This layer is thin -- generally about 4 nm --
but the bulk resistivity of Al2O3 is very high, so there is a finite and
variable resistance across the interface between two joined pieces of
aluminum (depending on the area of the joint, the joining pressure, and
the extent to which the joining method produces a clean [oxide-free],
gas-tight interface between the joined surfaces).
Best regards,
Charles
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