US 12,379,233 B2
Passive capacitance sensing
Donald Enzinna, Lockport, NY (US)
Assigned to Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., Denver, CO (US)
Filed by Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., Denver, CO (US)
Filed on Jul. 19, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/354,970.
Prior Publication US 2025/0027792 A1, Jan. 23, 2025
Int. Cl. G01D 5/24 (2006.01); G01R 27/26 (2006.01); H01L 21/683 (2006.01)
CPC G01D 5/24 (2013.01) [G01R 27/2605 (2013.01); H01L 21/6833 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for measuring capacitance of a load, the apparatus comprising:
a ground connector configured to couple to ground;
an output connector configured to couple to the load;
a direct current (DC) supply arranged in a conduction path between the ground connector and the output connector wherein the DC supply is configured to apply a DC voltage and noise voltage onto the conduction path; and
a voltage monitor configured to monitor the noise voltage applied by the DC supply;
a current monitor configured to measure current in the conduction path that results from the noise voltage;
a capacitance module coupled to the current monitor and voltage monitor, the capacitance module configured to determine the capacitance based upon the monitored current and noise voltage.