Introduction Vacuum pumps are the heart of any vacuum system, yet they are surprisingly vulnerable to damage from improper pressure conditions. Overpressure during roughing, sudden gas bursts, or running a turbo-molecular pump against atmosphere can cause overheating, bearing wear, or catastrophic failure—leading to expensive repairs, unplanned downtime, and lost production. Modern vacuum gauges eliminate these

Introduction Physical vapor deposition (PVD) and thin-film coating systems demand precise pressure control across a wide range—from atmosphere during venting and load-lock cycling to high vacuum during sputtering or evaporation. A gauge that cannot deliver stable, repeatable readings in both regimes will cause thickness variations, poor adhesion, or arcing that scrapes entire batches. Engineers and

Introduction Most industrial vacuum processes span six decades of pressure—from atmosphere during venting and roughing to high vacuum during deposition, etching, or analysis. A single gauge cannot deliver accurate, continuous readings across this entire range. Thermal-conductivity gauges lose sensitivity below 10−3 Torr; ionization gauges cannot operate reliably near atmosphere. The practical solution is to combine