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Tips for Making Low Current Measurements
with an Oscilloscope and Current Probe
Application Note
In recent years, engineers working on mobile phones
and other batterypowered devices have demanded
highersensitivity current measurement to help them
ensure the current consumption of their devices
is within acceptable limits. Measuring current is a
nuisance because you have to break the circuit to put
the measuring instrument in series with the circuit.
Using a clampon current probe with an oscilloscope
is an easy way to make current measurement that
does not necessitate breaking the circuit. But this
process gets tricky as the current levels fall into the
low milliampere range or below.This article offers
useful tips to help you make accurate lowlevel
current measurements in the presence of relatively
high levels of oscilloscope noise.
02 | Keysight | Tips for Making Low Current Measurements with an Oscilloscope and Current Probe Application Note
Scope noise matters So, how do you minimize the oscillo
scope's inherent noise? With modern
3) Averaging mode
When the signal is periodic or DC, you
As the current level decreases, digital oscilloscopes, there are a num can use averaging mode to reduce the
the oscilloscope's inherent ber of possible approaches: oscilloscope's vertical noise. Averaging
noise becomes a real issue. All mode takes multiple acquisitions of a
oscilloscopes exhibit one undesirable 1) Bandwidth limit filter periodic waveform and creates a run
characteristic