[SENSe:]CURRent Subsystem

This subsystem configures AC and DC current measurements.

Command Summary

[SENSe:]CURRent:AC:BANDwidth

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL[:STATe]

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL:VALue

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL:VALue:AUTO

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:RANGe

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:RANGe:AUTO

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals

[SENSe:]CURRent:AC:SECondary

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:APERture

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:APERture:ENABled

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:NPLC

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:RESolution

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:SECondary

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:ZERO:AUTO

[SENSe:]CURRent:SWITch:MODE

[SENSe:]CURRent:AC:BANDwidth {<filter>|MIN|MAX|DEF}
[SENSe:]CURRent:AC:BANDwidth? [{MIN|MAX|DEF}]

Sets the bandwidth for AC current measurements.

The instrument uses three different AC filters that enable you either to optimize low frequency accuracy or to achieve faster AC settling times following a change in input signal amplitude.

On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
{3 Hz|20 Hz|200 Hz}. Default: 20Hz. +2.00000000E+01

Make and read an AC current measurement. Use the 3 Hz filter bandwidth:

CONF:CURR:AC 1
CURR:AC:BAND 3
READ?

Typical Response: +5.23918293E+00

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL[:STATe] {ON|1|OFF|0}
[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL[:STATe]?

Enables or disables the null function for AC or DC current measurements.

This parameter setting is not shared between AC and DC measurements. The parameters are independent for AC and DC measurements.
On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
{ON|1|OFF|0}. Default: OFF. 0 (OFF) or 1 (ON)

Configure AC current measurements, using the null function to subtract 100 mA from the measurements. Then make two measurements and send them to the instrument's output buffer:

CONF:CURR:AC
CURR:AC:NULL:STAT ON;VAL 100 mA
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +1.04530000E+00,+1.04570000E+00

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL:VALue {<value>|MIN|MAX|DEF}
[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL:VALue? [{MIN|MAX|DEF}]

Sets the null value for AC or DC current measurements.

This parameter setting is not shared between AC and DC measurements. The parameters are independent for AC and DC measurements.
On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
-12 to 12 A. Default: 0 +1.04530000E+00

Configure AC current measurements, using the null function to subtract 100 mA from the measurements. Then make two measurements and send them to the instrument's output buffer:

CONF:CURR:AC
CURR:AC:NULL:STAT ON;VAL 100 mA
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +1.04530000E+00,+1.04570000E+00

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL:VALue:AUTO {ON|1|OFF|0}
[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:NULL:VALue:AUTO?

Enables or disables automatic null value selection for AC or DC current measurements.

This parameter setting is not shared between AC and DC measurements. The parameters are independent for AC and DC measurements.
On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
{ON|1|OFF|0}. Default: ON. 0 (OFF) or 1 (ON)

Configure AC current measurements, using the null function to subtract 100 mA from the measurements. Then make two measurements and send them to the instrument's output buffer:

CONF:CURR:AC
CURR:AC:NULL:STAT ON;VAL 100 mA
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +1.04530000E+00,+1.04570000E+00


Make a second set of measurements using automatic null value selection:
CURR:AC:NULL:VAL:AUTO ON
READ?

Typical Response: +0.00000000E+00,+0.01420000E+00

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:RANGe {<range>|MIN|MAX|DEF}
[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:RANGe? [{MIN|MAX|DEF}]

Selects a fixed measurement range for AC or DC current measurements on the 3 A terminals. For DMMs with a 10 A range, you cannot select the 10 A range with this command; instead, use[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals 10 or CONF:CURRent:{AC|DC} 10.

This parameter setting is not shared between AC and DC measurements. The parameters are independent for AC and DC measurements.
On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return

<range> : {100 µA|1 mA|10 mA|100 mA|1 A|3 A}. Default: AUTO (autorange). The 34465A/70A have additional DC current ranges of 1 µA and 10 µA.

+1.00000000E-01

Configure AC current measurements using the 1 A range.  Make and read two measurements:

CONF:CURR:AC
CURR:AC:RANG 1
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +1.04530000E+00,+1.04570000E+00

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:RANGe:AUTO {OFF|ON|ONCE}
[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:RANGe:AUTO?

Disables or enables autoranging for AC or DC current measurements. Autoranging is convenient because it automatically selects the range for each measurement based on the input signal.

Specifying ONCE performs an immediate autorange and then turns autoranging off.

This parameter setting is not shared between AC and DC measurements. The parameters are independent for AC and DC measurements.
On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
{ON|1|OFF|0}. Default: ON. 0 (OFF) or 1 (ON)

Configure AC current measurements and perform an immediate autorange.  Make and read two measurements:

CONF:CURR:AC
CURR:AC:RANG:AUTO ONCE
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +1.04530000E-01,+1.04570000E-01

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals {3|10}

[SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals?

Configures the AC or DC current measurement to measure the source on the 3 A or 10 A terminals. Note that the 10 A terminal is not available on the 34460A.


Parameter Typical Return
{3|10}. Default: 3. +3 or +10

Configure AC current measurements to use the 10 A terminal.  Make and read two measurements:

CONF:CURR:AC
CURR:AC:TERM 10
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +7.81929394E+00,7.82013671E+00

[SENSe:]CURRent:AC:SECondary {"OFF"|"CALCulate:DATA"|"FREQuency"|"CURRent[:DC]"}
[SENSe:]CURRent:AC:SECondary?

Selects the secondary measurement function for AC current measurements.

Parameter Typical Return

{"OFF"|"CALCulate:DATA"|"FREQuency"|"CURRent[:DC]"}, default "OFF"

"CALC:DATA"

Configure AC current measurements using the 1 A range. Select frequency as the secondary
measurement. Make and retrieve measurements.

CONF:CURR:AC 1
CURR:AC:SEC "FREQ"
READ?;DATA2?

Typical Response: +0.50000000E+00;+1.00000000E+03

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:APERture {<seconds>|MIN|MAX|DEF}
[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:APERture? [{MIN|MAX|DEF}]

Specifies the integration time in seconds (called aperture time) for dc current measurements.

Use this command for precise control of the DMM's integration time. Use NPLC (see [SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:NPLC ) for better power-line noise rejection characteristics (NPLC > 1).

Parameter Typical Return

(Without the DIG option) 200 µs to 1 s (2 µs resolution), default: 100 ms. (With the DIG option)  20 µs to 1 s (2 µs resolution), default: 100 ms.

+1.00000000E-01

Enable aperture time mode, set the aperture time to 300 ms:

CURR:APER:ENAB ON
CURR:DC:APER 300E-03

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:APERture:ENABled {ON|1|OFF|0}
[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:APERture:ENABled?

Enables the setting of integration time in seconds (called aperture time) for dc current measurements. If aperture time mode is disabled (default), the integration time is set in PLC (power-line cycles).

Parameter Typical Return
{ON|1|OFF|0}. Default: OFF. 0 (OFF) or 1 (ON)

Enable aperture time mode, set the aperture time to 300 ms:

CURR:APER:ENAB ON
CURR:DC:APER 300E-03

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:NPLC {<PLC>|MIN|MAX|DEF}
[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:NPLC? [{MIN|MAX|DEF}]

Sets the integration time in number of power line cycles (PLC) for DC current measurements. Integration time is the period that the instrument's analog-to-digital (A/D) converter samples the input signal for a measurement. A longer integration time gives better measurement resolution but slower measurement speed.

On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
0.02, 0.2, 1, 10, 100. Default: 10 (34460A/61A)
0.02, 0.06, 0.2, 1, 10, 100. Default: 10 (34465A/70A without DIG option)
0.001, 0.002, 0.006, 0.02, 0.06, .2, 1, 10, 100. Default: 10 (34465A/70A with DIG option)
See Range, Resolution and NPLC for more information.
+1.00000000E+00

Configure DC current measurements using a 10 PLC integration time. Then make and read one measurement:

CONF:CURR:DC
CURR:DC:NPLC 10
READ?

Typical Response: +6.27530000E-01

See Also

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:RESolution

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:RESolution {<resolution>|MIN|MAX|DEF}
[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:RESolution? [{MIN|MAX|DEF}]

Selects the measurement resolution for DC current measurements. Specify the resolution in the same units as the selected measurement function, not in number of digits.

On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
Specify <resolution> in the measurement's units (V, A, Hz, Ω, and so on). +3.00000000E-05

Configure DC current measurements with a 3 µA resolution. Then make and read one measurement:

CONF:CURR:DC 1
CURR:DC:RES 3E-6
READ?

Typical Response: +6.27531500E-01

See Also

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:NPLC

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:SECondary {"OFF"|"CALCulate:DATA"|"CURRent:AC"|"PTPeak"}
[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:SECondary?

Selects the secondary measurement function for DC current measurements.

Parameter Typical Return

{"OFF"|"CALCulate:DATA"|"CURRent:AC"|"PTPeak"}, default "OFF"

"CALC:DATA"

Configure DC current measurements using the 1 A range with 1 mA resolution. Select peak-to-peak as the secondary measurement. Make and retrieve measurements.

CONF:CURR:DC 1,0.001
CURR:DC:SEC "PTP"
READ?;DATA2?

Typical Response: +5.54141768E-06;+9.91000000E+3,+9.91000000E+3

[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:ZERO:AUTO {OFF|ON|ONCE}
[SENSe:]CURRent[:DC]:ZERO:AUTO?

Disables or enables the autozero mode for DC current measurements.

On the 34461A, 34465A, or 34470A, use the [SENSe:]CURRent:{AC|DC}:TERMinals command to specify which current terminals to use for the measurement.

Parameter Typical Return
{OFF|ON|ONCE}. Default: ON. 0 (OFF) or 1 (ON)

Configure DC current measurements and perform an immediate autozero.  Make and read two measurements:

CONF:CURR:DC 1
CURR:DC:ZERO:AUTO ONCE
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: +1.04530000E-01,+1.04570000E-01

[SENSe:]CURRent:SWITch:MODE {FAST|CONTinuous}
[SENSe:]CURRent:SWITch:MODE?

Selects the FAST or CONTinuous range change mode for AC and DC current measurements.

Parameter Typical Return
{FAST|CONTinuous}. Default: CONT CONT

Configure DC current measurements on the 1 mA range. Specify CONTinuous mode.  Make and read two measurements:

CONF:CURR:DC .001
CURR:SWIT:MODE CONT
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Change the current range to 1 V (no open circuit occurs when changing range).  Make and read two measurements:

CONF:CURR:DC 1
SAMP:COUN 2
READ?

Typical Response: -5.28836573E-02,-5.01252821E-02