The National Institute of Standards and Technology has teamed up with MKS Instruments to develop a portable version of a device designed to collect quantum-based measurements of pressure.
NIST and MKS will develop smaller prototypes of the fixed-length optical cavity device under a cooperative research and development agreement, the agency said Wednesday.
FLOC is made of ultra-low expansion glass and has two cavities or tubes in which laser light can pass through.
The device works to help users measure pressure or pascal by determining the difference between the frequencies of light that exit the gas-filled cavity and the empty tube.
Jay Hendricks, a physicist with NIST and head of the FLOC project, said a handheld sensor that works to measure pressure could have potential applications in commercial flights, semiconductor chips production and aircraft used in defense missions.
