Analysis of DC reversal error of the calorimetric thermal voltage converter

Abstract One of the most precise standards of AC voltage in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 100 MHz is the Calorimetric Thermal Voltage Converter (CTVC) designed at National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa, Canada. Unfortunately, this converter has a few times higher value of DC reversal error than other known thermal voltage converters (TVC). This article presents analysis of possible reasons of such a high DC reversal error and discusses possible ways of its reduction. The analysis is performed using finite element method (FEM) simulations. The correctness of the developed FEM model was validated with published results of investigation of the physical model of the CTVC designed and constructed in NRC. This article presents also improved construction of a CTVC and laboratory measurements of its DC reversal error which is about 89 % lower than in the case of NRC CTVC.