Portable space charge measurement system using the pulsed electroacoustic method

The pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method is used to measure space charge distributions in insulating materials. A high-resolution PEA measurement system and signal procedure has been discussed in previous papers. Since the signal procedure is necessary for high-resolution measurement, the system must include a computer. In this paper, a new PEA system-one without signal processing is introduced. In order to eliminate the inevitable signal distortion of the conventional PEA method, the new system employs a new voltage waveform generator, one that is different from the very narrow pulse generator used in conventional PEA systems. Using the new waveform, designed based on the impulse response of the measurement system, the output signal can show the space charge distribution directly, without the need to conduct deconvolution. Thus, space charge distributions can be measured on-site, such as in the factory, with a portable oscilloscope. The spatial resolution of the space charge measurement of the system is 10 microns, which is the same as that of conventional PEA systems. Such a portable PEA system can contribute to various industrial applications.