Microcomputer-based voltage topography scanner

Date

6-1996

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Demetrio A Yco, Jr.

Abstract

The problem of mapping the equipotential lines of a conducting surface has been solved using turious approaches. Most of the approaches that were used to solve this problem has been through manual and analog means But these proved to he tedious, time consuming and very susceptible to human error. With the development of the microcomputer, digitalization has become a viable approach to the mapping of equipotential lines. The Voltage Topography Scanner(VTS) is an implementation of this approach. The VTS scans a conducting surface and outputs its voltage topography in tabular form. It uses a stepper motor to move the probe over a conducting surface. The voltage is sensed by the probe which is connected to an ADC card. The analog signal is then transformed into digital signal by this card. The digital reading would then be sent to the computer and will be read by the computer program. The data will be outputted to the screen and it will also he written as a text file on a disk. The equipotential lines can already be mapped by graphing the points on the voltage topography table, by connecting the points where the voltage reading is the same. By using this method, the time and effort spent in mapping equipotential lines has been significantly reduced and the margin of error has also been minimized. The V73' is primarily designed as a laboratory instructional aide for students taking basic physics course in electromagnetism. However, the use of the device is not restricted to mapping equipotential lines. An equipment that tells the voltage topography or the electric potential on different regions of a conducting plate can have many applications in the field of semiconductors, electrostatics and metallurgy.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

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