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Making Testing Easy with the Keysight B2900A Quick IV Measurement Software

Technical Overviews

Keysight Technologies

Making Testing Easy with the Keysight B2900A Quick IV Measurement Software

Introduction

The Keysight Technologies, Inc. B2900A Quick IV measurement software, which is included with products from the B2900A Series of precision instruments, makes it easy to quickly set up and perform current versus voltage (IV) and voltage/current versus time (v-t or i-t) measurements. The test approach using the Quick IV software can be broken down into three steps:

1. Setup measurements using preview capability

2. View test results in table and the graphics formats

3. Transfer measurement results for post-processing on a PC

This application details the software’s capabilities in each of these areas and references actual software screens to illustrate these features.

Benefits of using the Quick IV Software

– Ease of use

Quick IV measurement software is easy to learn and simple to use, which means you can get the data you need sooner. To obtain measurements two types of measurement functions are available: Sweep, and Source & Sampling.

– Quick and accurate test setup

To help you visualize your setup, the software provides the preview of the channel output signal in the Channel Output Graph Area of the Setting panel (shown in Figure 1). From this screen you can set the measurement by viewing the preview of the output signal and the measurement timing in the Channel Output Graph. You can quickly set up your test and get accurate results beginning with the first measurement. As illustrated in Figure 1, each channel’s output timing and the measurement points are shown in purple dots and can be seen clearly, providing a quick validation that the test has been accurately setup.

– Easy to perform parametric test

The Quick IV software supports the secondary sweep, VAR2, making it easy for you to include parametric tests. As shown in the top preview graph of Figure 1, VAR2 increments the step value after each primary sweep, VAR1, finishes one sweep measurement. Using VAR2, you can expand the measurement range to perform parameter tests such as Id-Vd measurement (VAR1 to drain, VAR2 to gate) of field effect transistors (FETs).

– Easy test automation

It is easy to automate your testing. GPIB, LAN and USB interfaces are supported, allowing you to remotely control the B2900As. Up to four channels can be used, and a channel can be added at any time, if necessary.

Performing Setup and Measurements Easily

The first step is to use the software’s user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) to set up accurate measurements. The test setup used for this example is shown in Figure 2 and is for measuring switching mode DC-to-DC converter using two SMU channels: one for the input DC power supply and the other for the emulated electric load. The B2900A Series can be used with a maximum capacitance load of 50 μF, and it is suitable for characterizing a device with the capacitive components as shown in Figure 2.

The Quick IV software supports two types of measurement modes using up to four channels:

Sweep measurement

This measurement function is used to test the IV characteristics of semiconductor devices such as diodes, the resistivity of various materials, and functional ICs such as regulators, VCOs and MEMs. The parametric test can also be performed easily using the secondary source sweep function.

Source and sampling measurement

This measurement function is used to characterize transient or step response using the minimum 10 μs sampling interval of B2900A Series of precision instruments.1 Using a Keysight B2961A/62A power source you can output an arbitrary waveform.

Load regulation test using sweep function

Switching mode DC-to-DC converter converts the input DC voltage to a stable DC output voltage and keeps the output stable. The load regulation test measures the output voltage variation when the output current load is varying. The following procedures show how to set up the load regulation test. Each step corresponds to each number shown in Figure 3.

1. Select the “Setting” panel

2. Sweep function is used for load regulation test. In the example, Ch1 is set to constant 12 V as the input voltage source, Vin.

3. The status of Ch2 is active and is set as the current load of the regulator. The background color in the output signal graph turns to green, indicating that the channel is active and that the test parameters can be set.

4. Ch2 is set as VAR1 primary sweep function to emulate the sweeping electric load from 25 mA to 175 mA by 10 mA step.

5. The measurement parameters for Ch2 are set as a current source (the negative sign indicates that the Ch2 sinks the current for the Ch2 operation). The calculated sweep waveform and the measurement points are shown as a preview in the output signal graph.

6. The Measurement Delay is set at 0.01 seconds, which is the amount of time delay that will occur before starting the measurement after the VAR1 step is made. The Measurement Speed parameter is set to Normal, which is one power line cycle period.

7. Change the Preview Range from VAR1 to STEP for the output signal graph setting.

8. Once set to STEP, the graph expands for one step of the VAR1 period in the horizontal axis, as shown in the enlarged preview graph in Figure 3. In this image you can see that the measurement starts at a point 10 ms (0.01 sec) after the VAR1 is set. The measurement is made for one power line cycle period after this point, which is 20 ms for the 50 Hz line frequency and 16.6 ms for 60 Hz. Then VAR1 is stepped to the next value.

In this way, you can set the measurement quickly and accurately by reviewing the preview in the output signal graph. You can monitor any of the points by sliding the Time Bar, which is located at the top of the output signal graph.

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