A high precision method for measuring very small capacitance changes

A novel method for measuring very small capacitance changes based on capacitance-to-phase angle conversion is introduced in this article. This new method is the improved or linearized version of the nonlinear capacitance-to-phase angle conversion method. The main features of this scheme are the very good linearity, extremely high stray immunity and a very high resolution. The experimental results of the prototype version of this scheme have also been reported. By using this prototype and a simple capacitive transducer, a minimum detectable distance of about 16 nm can be achieved. This means that a capacitance change of about 0.7 fF (0.7310 F) in a capacitance of 22 pF can be resolved, so the minimum resolvable relative capacitance is about 32 ppm. By the theory it can be seen that the minimum resolvable relative capacitance of 2 ppm could be achieved by this method. © 1999 American Institute of Physics. @S0034-6748~99!03808-3#