A Faraday cup for charge measurements in biophysical and environmental fieldwork

Harrison, R. G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0693-347X and Robert, D. (2025) A Faraday cup for charge measurements in biophysical and environmental fieldwork. Journal of Electrostatics, 135. 104062. ISSN 1873-5738 doi: 10.1016/j.elstat.2025.104062

Abstract/Summary

A novel miniature (28mm × 38mm) shielded Faraday cup is described for quantifying picocoulomb charges on millimetre environmental objects, such as small insects or plants, droplets, dust particles or powders. The electrometer electronics is contained within the device, avoiding any transfer of low level signals to an external electrometer. It is calibrated using a voltage ramp – capacitor method, generating defined charge pulses without a reference electrometer. The device can fit within an acoustic levitator to provide non-contact, zero leakage suspension of small objects, measuring charge on their release. Convenience and simplicity of use open new environmental charge measurement opportunities.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/121714
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.elstat.2025.104062
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	Elsevier
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