A proof-of-concept study demonstrating a multi-plate ion balance analyzer

Abstract This paper demonstrates a multi-plate ion balance analyzer with inverse distance weighted interpolation for characterizing ionizer performance. The proposed analyzer design uses ultra-high input impedance charge induced meter to measure the electrostatic potential of multiple ion receiving plates. An embedded microcontroller processes the multi-channel analog signals synchronously and presents the results on a graphical display. Data interpolation enables high resolution results from the multi-plate measurements. This developed analyzer is suitable for ion balance characterization in small footprint devices sensitive to electrostatic discharges, such as a single-chip integrated circuit, or the head gimbals assembly of a hard disk drive.