CF/RF values for 300+ compounds across RAE Systems, Industrial Scientific MX6, IGD/GenSenova, and Dräger instruments
| Compound | CAS | IE (eV) | RAE 10.6 | RAE 9.8 | RAE 11.7 | MX6 10.6 | IGD 10.6 | Drg HC | Drg LC |
|---|
How PIDs work
A photoionization detector (PID) ionises gas molecules using UV light and measures the resulting ion current. PIDs are calibrated to isobutylene (2-methylpropene, CAS 115-11-7), assigned a CF of 1.00. Because different compounds ionise with different efficiency under the same lamp, a correction factor is required to convert the displayed reading to the true concentration.
Correction Factor (CF) = Response Factor (RF) — The terms are used interchangeably across manufacturers. RAE Systems uses CF; MSA, Industrial Scientific, and Dräger use RF. The calculation is identical: True concentration = PID reading × CF.
NR (No Response) — The compound's ionisation energy (IE) exceeds the lamp photon energy. The compound cannot be detected with that lamp.
Lamp energies: The most common PID lamp is 10.6 eV. High-sensitivity lamps at 11.7 eV can detect compounds with higher IE (e.g. some halogenated solvents), but degrade faster and are humidity-sensitive. Low-energy 9.8 eV lamps reduce sensitivity to common interferences.
Dräger sensor variants: The PID HC (high concentration) is suited to ppm-range work; the PID LC ppb version has a smaller measurement cell for sub-ppm detection. RF values differ between the two.
| Manufacturer | Instrument | Lamp (eV) | Source | Compounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAE Systems | MiniRAE, ppbRAE, MultiRAE | 9.8 / 10.6 / 11.7 | TN-106 | 262 |
| Industrial Scientific | MX6 iBrid | 10.6 | PID Response Factors table | 115 |
| IGD / GenSenova | SL-031 | 10.6 | CF table SL-031-2 | 141 |
| Dräger | X-am 8000 | 10.6 | Substance list (PID HC + LC ppb) | 90 |
| MSA | ALTAIR 5X | 10.6 | Compound library (RF device-stored) | 118 (no published RF) |