Applications: Research & Development
Trek’s products are utilized in research for smart materials, piezoelectrics, plasma chemistry, materials poling, displays, electrostatics, mass spectrometry and more. The following applications represent a cross-section of how Trek products are used in R&D. Whether or not you see your R&D application below, please contact us for assistance.
Piezoelectric Research
Amplifiers are used in driving of piezoelectric elements and poling of piezoelectric materials.
Trek Product: PZD350, PZD350 M/S, PZD700, PZD700 M/S PZD2000A
Non-Thermal Plasma Chemistry
Trek provides standard high voltage amplifiers, which are used for R&D of plasma reactors and plasma chemistry processes. Trek, also designs custom power supplies for specific reactor requirements. These amplifiers provide the energy to start and control the plasma generation, which enhances the chemical reaction.
Partial Discharge (dielectric testing)
Trek provides high voltage amplifiers that are used to apply AC voltage to insulation systems to create the partial discharges or for high voltage dielectric spectroscopy. The use of AC waveforms at higher frequency provide a higher stress on the insulators as compared to DC voltages or low frequency AC voltages.
Material Poling
Trek’s electrostatic voltmeters are used for charge measurements of electrets and corona charged surfaces (1). Trek’s amplifiers are also used for periodic poling of nonlinear optical materials and piezoelectric materials (2).
Trek Product: (1) 347, 341; (2) P0621, 20/20C, 10/10B, 623B, 609E-6, 10/40A, 30/20A, 610E
Ferroelectric and Smart Material Characterization
Trek’s amplifiers are used to sweep voltage across these materials while monitoring the current required in order to measure the electrical characteristics and hysteresis of these materials.
Pyroelectric Materials
Trek amplifiers are used to apply voltage to materials to measure the resulting change in temperature of the material.
Electrorheological Materials (ER Materials)
Trek’s amplifiers are used to control the electric fields across the liquids to control the viscosity.
Trek Product: Trek 609E-6, 10/10B, 20/20C, 609B-3, 610E
Electroactive Polymers (EAP)
Trek’s amplifiers are used to characterize these new materials and to control the strain or position of EAP actuator by controlling voltage applied across the actuator.
Electroluminescence
Trek’s amplifier is used to apply an electric current or a strong electric field, to produce an optical phenomenon and electrical phenomenon where a material emits light.
Trek Product: 610E
Accelerator Mass Spectrometer
Trek provides amplifiers that are used to deflect the ion beam for the selection and analysis of the ions.
Trek Product: 30/20A, 20/20C, P0621, 10/10B, 609E-6, PZD700 PZD2000A
Electron Beam Ion Traps (EBIT) and Electron Beam Ion Sources (EBIS)
Trek’s high voltage power amplifiers are used to control the electron beam energy, anode voltage (extraction supply), and deflection.
Fusion, Electron Cyclotron Resonant Heating (ECRH)
Trek’s amplifiers are used to control the body supply of the gyrotron tube to control the acceleration energy in the tube.
Fusion, Heavy Ion Beam Probe
Trek’s amplifiers are used to electrostatic scan a heavy ion beam through the plasma.
Electrophoretic Display
Trek’s amplifiers control the electric fields across the display to move the charged particles into the desired position to create the image to be displayed.
Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS)
Trek’s amplifiers are typically used to apply voltages to provide electrostatic attraction or repulsion to control the movement of the micro-mechanical structures.
Electrooptic Modulation
Trek’s amplifiers are used to apply high voltage potentials across electrooptic materials to create birefringence in the material.
Pulsed-Field Electrophoresis
Trek’s amplifiers are used to apply a pulsed voltage waveform across the capillary tube to provide generate a rapid separation of large biopolymers.
Electrostatic Levitation
Trek’s amplifiers are used to control the level of an electric field to lift a charged object and counteract the effects of gravity.
Electrospinning (to form ultrafine polymer fibers)
Trek’s amplifiers are used to provide high voltages (typically 10kV to 20 kV) to generate sufficient surface charge to overcome the surface tension in a drop of polymer fluid. This results in the ejection of a fluid jet that is drawn down by acceleration to a grounded collector. The diameters of the electrospun fibers are at least one order of magnitude smaller than those made by conventional extrusion techniques. (more info)
Electrohydrodynamics (EHD)
Trek’s amplifiers are used to control the electric field levels utilized in the study of the fluid/gas motion induced by electric fields.
Electrospraying
Trek’s amplifiers are used to control the electric field strength to create the electrospray; this technique atomizes a droplet from a capillary needle, drawn out by an electric field.
Microfluidics/Electrokinetic Instability
Trek’s amplifiers are used for controlling DC and AC electric fields to stir or create a flow of a fluid in a microfluidic device.
Fluidized Bed
Trek’s amplifiers are used to apply electric fields to stabilize fluidized beds (1). Trek’s electrostatic voltmeters (ESVMs) are used for charge monitoring (2).
Electrostatic Coatings (Abrasives )
Trek’s amplifiers generate electric fields to control the orientation and spacing of particles (such as abrasives) that are electrostatically applied onto a backing material.
Langmuir-Blodgett Films
Trek noncontacting electrostatic voltmeters (ESVMs) are used to measure the electrostatic voltage of these films, which consist of one or more mono-layers of an organic material, deposited from the surface of a liquid onto a solid, typically by immersing the solid substrate into the liquid. The step can be repeated to form additional layers and thus control film thickness.
Measurement of Material Charging from Space Radiation
Trek’s electrostatic voltmeters (ESVMs) are used to measure residual charging in materials from exposure to radiation from electron beams and other sources to simulate the radiation in a space environment.
Work Function Measurement or Contact Potential Measurements
Trek’s noncontacting electrostatic voltmeters (ESVMs) are used to measure the difference in electrostatic potential between a reference electrode material and the test material. Note that the work function is the minimum energy required to remove an electron from the Fermi level in a metal to a point at a finite distance outside the surface. Contact potential difference is the electrostatic potential that exists between two samples of electrically conductive dissimilar materials.