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Varistor Evaluation Using the
Agilent B2900A Series of SMUs
Technical Overview
Agilent B2901/02/11/12A Precision Source/Measure Unit
Agilent B2901A Precision SMU, 1ch, 100 fA resolution, 210 V, 3 A DC/10.5 A pulse
Agilent B2902A Precision SMU, 2ch, 100 fA resolution, 210 V, 3 A DC/10.5 A pulse
Agilent B2911A Precision SMU, 1ch, 10 fA resolution, 210 V, 3 A DC/10.5 A pulse
Agilent B2912A Precision SMU. 2ch, 10 fA resolution, 210 V, 3 A DC/10.5 A pulse
Introduction Agilent B2901/02/11/12A Precision that make it easy for you to begin
Source/Measure Unit is a compact making productive measurements
A varistor is a variable resistor that and cost-effective bench-top Source/ immediately. These features make
exhibits high resistance at low Measure Unit (SMU) with the capability the B2900A Series of SMUs the best
voltages and low resistance at high to output and measure both voltage solution for accurate characterization
voltages. Varistors typically have a and current. of varistors and other devices.
clamping voltage above which their
resistance decreases significantly The B2900A Series of SMUs enables Figure 1 illustrates the connections
(similar to a zener diode). Due to you to make a wide range of current necessary for measuring a varistor
their variable resistance, varistors are versus voltage (IV) measurements using the B2900A Series of SMUs.
frequently used as a transient voltage more accurately and quickly than ever The B2900A Series of SMUs allows
suppressor (TVS) to protect electrical before. In addition, the B2900A Series you to accurately and easily measure
circuitry from excessive voltages. of SMUs comes with an intuitive the basic IV parameters and charac-
graphical user interface (GUI) and teristics of varistors, including tests
free PC-based application software such as varistor voltage and leakage
current.
B2901/02/11/12A
High force
A
-
V Varistor
-
Low force
Figure 1. Image of the B2900A Series of SMUs and its circuit diagram to characterize a varistor
What is the B2900A by test lead residual resistance. Quick and Easy
Measurements made through a 2-wire
Series of SMUs? connection can contain significant
IV Characterization
An SMU combines the capabilities of error when the resistance being During routine device evaluation it
a current source, a voltage source, measured is comparable to that of is often desirable to make a quick
a current meter and a voltage meter the test leads (please see Figure 2a). measurement from the instrument's
along with the capability to switch However, a 4-wire measurement uses front panel without having to go
easily between these various func- one pair of leads to force current and through the time and trouble of writ-
tions into a single instrument. This the other pair of leads to monitor volt- ing a test program. To meet this need,
gives it the ability to evaluate the IV age. This eliminates cable resistance all members of the B2900A Series of
characteristics of devices across all effects so that only the voltage drop SMUs have a resident GUI that makes
four measurement quadrants without across the DUT is measured (please it easy to perform a variety of tests
see Figure 2b). In addition, the 4-wire and save measurement data without
the need for any additional equip-
having to write any code.
ment. Besides being able to output measurement scheme of the B2900A
and measure voltage or current very Series of SMUs keeps the voltage
The wide QVGA LCD display of the
accurately, SMUs also possess a between the sense points (A and B
B2900A Series of SMUs supports an
compliance feature that allows a limit in Figure 2b) at exactly the specified
easy-to-use GUI that provides easy
to be placed on the voltage or current voltage Vset, thereby ensuring that
instrument control from the front
output to prevent device damage. The your device is characterized exactly
panel (please see Figure 3).
members of the B2900A Series of under the measurement conditions
SMUs are single or dual channel SMU you specify.
units that offer a wide range of IV
measurement capability for a variety
of two-terminal and three-terminal B2901/02/11/12A B2901/02/11/12A
devices. They cover currents from RLead
10 fA to 3 A (DC)/10.5 A (pulse) High force IMeas High force IMeas
and voltages from 100 nV to 210 V. RLead
In addition to their DC operation High sense High sense A
mode, the B2900A Series of SMUs VMeas VSet RDUT VMeas VSet RDUT
also has the ability to perform pulsed
Low sense Low sense B
measurements in order to prevent RLead
device self-heating from distorting Low force Low force
the measurement results.
a) 2-wire connection b) 4-wire connection
The B2900A Series of SMUs supports
4-wire measurements (remote sensing) Figure 2. A 4-wire connection eliminates the measurement error caused by residual lead
to eliminate the voltage error caused resistance
1) Set the measurement condition 2) Change the view mode
and the compliance
3) Execute
a) Single view b) Graph view
Figure 3. The GUI of the B2900A Series of SMUs makes it easy to take a quick measurement and display the results
2
The GUI of the B2900A Series of The Agilent B2900A Graphical Web The Agilent B2900A Quick I/V
SMUs has the following multiple Interface provides functionality to Measurement Software has more
viewing modes: Single View, Dual allow access to the B2900A Series powerful measurement capabilities
View, Graph View and Roll View (for of SMUs over a LAN connection. The to control the B2900A Series of
viewing time domain measurements). B2900A Series of SMUs is fully com- SMUs over GPIB, USB or LAN
Single View mode allows you to eas- pliant with the LXI class C specifica- connections (please see Figure 5).
ily set up not only constant voltage tion and it contains a web server that You can download this PC-based
and current measurements but also provides a webpage with an interface software from Agilent's web site
swept voltage and current measure- to support the basic measurement for free. The Agilent B2900A Quick
ments. Dual View can perform similar functions of the B2900A Series of I/V Measurement Software also
functions for both channels simulta- SMUs. You can quickly and easily supports a variety of functions such
neously (for B2902A and B2912A). make measurements using a standard as a sweep measurement, a sampling
After measurement completion you web browser by just connecting the measurement, graphical display
can use the front panel GUI to graphi- B2900A Series of SMUs to a PC using functions and the ability to save test
cally view measurement results such a LAN cable. results into CSV files.
as IV curves using Graph View, and
display a list of the measurement
data using the Measure Result dialog
window.
Measurement
data
The B2900A Series of SMUs has a Measurement
USB interface on the front panel so setups
that a USB flash memory device can
be used with the B2900A Series of
SMUs to save and load measurement
setups as well as to save measure-
ment results. In addition, Graph View Graph dump to JPEG
supports a Screen Dump function
that enables you to save screen
images (such as IV curves) to any
attached USB flash memory device as
JPEG files, making it easy to include Figure 4. Measurement results and measurement setups can be saved to any attached
graphical results in reports and USB flash memory device
presentations (please see Figure 4).
Ready-to-use PC software
In addition to its powerful and
easy-to-use GUI, the B2900A Series
of SMUs comes with free PC applica-
tion software to facilitate program
development if you prefer PC-based
instrument control. The Agilent
B2900A Graphical Web Interface
and the Agilent B2900A Quick I/V
Measurement Software are both
available for the B2900A Series of
SMUs.
Figure 5. It is easy to make a quick measurement on a PC using the Agilent B2900A Quick
I/V Measurement Software
3
Easy custom Summary
program support The Agilent B2901/02/11/12A
If you have specialized programming Precision Source/Measure Unit is the
needs then both Standard Commands best solution for IV characterization
for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) of varistors and a variety of other
and IVI-COM drivers are available for devices. Its wide current and voltage
the B2900A Series of SMUs. SCPI measurement ranges (from 10 fA/
is an industry-standard command 100 nV to 10.5 A/210 V) provide
set for basic instruments, and it has superior measurement performance
a uniform structure that supports and allow you to characterize devices
a common set of commands. The more accurately and easily than ever
SCPI command set for the B2900A before.
Series of SMUs not only supports its
advanced features but also general- The easy-to-use GUI of the B2900A
purpose SMU commands (such as Series of SMUs has a variety of capa-
those used by the Keithley 2400) to bilities and features that make it easy
simplify test program migration. In to take measurements quickly and
addition to SCPI, the IVI-COM drivers to save both the measurement setup
for the B2900A Series of SMUs work conditions and data to USB-based
in a variety of programming environ- flash memory devices.
ments and languages so that you can
develop programs without having to In addition to being able to control
use low-level commands. the B2900A Series of SMUs remotely
over GPIB, USB and LAN interfaces,
Agilent supplies PC-based Agilent
B2900A Graphical Web Interface
and Agilent B2900A Quick I/V
Measurement Software for free to
simplify controlling the B2900A Series
of SMUs from your PC.
For more detailed information on the
various models of the B2900A Series
of SMUs, please refer to the data
sheet of the B2900A Series of SMUs
(5990-7009EN).
The B2900A Series of SMUs enables
you to quickly debug and accurately
characterize a wide variety of devices
using only a single bench-top SMU.
4
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