A system for gas electrical breakdown time delay measurements based on a microcontroller

A new system, called gasmem v1.0, for the measurements of gas electrical breakdown time delay (t(d)), with significantly better characteristics than older systems, has been developed and realized. It is based on the PIC 18F4550 microcontroller and could measure the minimal t(d) of about 1.5 mu s with the resolution of 83.33 ns. The relaxation (afterglow) period (tau) could vary from 1 to 232 ms (approximate to 50 days). The successive series of t(d) measurements with various tau could be performed, giving very reliable t(d) data that are stored on the personal computer (PC) hard drive via the USB interface. The t(d) and tau values enable the drawing of memory curves (< t(d)> = f (tau)) and the analysis of memory effects in the gases. The randomness of t(d) values measured by the gasmem system for more tau values was tested using the nonparametric Wald-Wolfowitz test showing the stochastic nature of obtained results. The memory curves obtained by this system have shown very high reproducibility. In addition, the system has a capability of operating as a stand-alone system (independently of a PC), with the possibility for the implementation of a touch screen for controlling the system and additional memory (e.g. memory card) for data storage.