In-vacuum active colour sensor and wireless communication across a vacuum-air interface.

Area of Science:

• * Applied Physics
• * Sensor Technology
• * Vacuum Engineering

Background:

• * In situ sensing with wireless digital-data transfer is crucial for edge computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).
• * Traditional color sensors are often located remotely, limiting their application in environments like vacuum chambers with veiled light sources.
• * Low-pressure plasma environments present unique challenges for optical sensing due to gas pressure differences and internal light emission.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To design and implement an in-vacuum color sensor capable of analogue-to-digital conversion and wireless data transmission.
• * To demonstrate the sensor's functionality in detecting light signals within a low-pressure plasma chamber.
• * To validate the sensor's ability to directly capture plasma emissions without external filtering.

Main Methods:

• * Development of a specialized in-vacuum color sensor with integrated analogue-to-digital conversion.
• * Implementation of wireless communication for real-time data transfer to an external computer.
• * Deployment and testing of the sensor within a 100 Pa low-pressure plasma chamber.

Main Results:

• * Successful detection of controlled light spectra from outside the vacuum chamber.
• * Complete operational success of the in-vacuum sensor for plasma emissions at 100 Pa.
• * Validation of detected signals originating from plasma, confirmed by comparison with monochromator data.

Conclusions:

• * The designed in-vacuum color sensor effectively performs in situ sensing and wireless data transfer in low-pressure plasma environments.
• * Direct detection of low-pressure plasma emissions is achievable without filtering effects.
• * This technology advances capabilities for industrial applications requiring real-time optical monitoring within vacuum systems.