A Wide-Range High-Voltage Capacitance Bridge with One PPM Accuracy

An impedance bridge for high-voltage capacitance and related measurements to an accuracy of 1 ppm is described and the background research and development which made it possible is documented. The bridge is of the transformer-ratioarm type, the principal components of which are a comparator and several two-stage transformers. The bridge can be used to measure capacitance ratios over a range from 1/1 to 107/1 with a resolution between 0.1 and 0.25 ppm. The highest accuracies are obtained at the principal power frequencies of 50-60 Hz, but the bridge is usable up to 400 Hz. The factors which limited the accuracy of previously developed bridges of this type were reexamined and their influence reduced. Two independent methods were developed for the calibration of the bridge.