Basic Source-Measure Operation
Current measurements and capacitive loads
When measuring current in a test circuit that has high capacitance, ringing may occur. Ring-
ing is the fluctuation of current readings that is initiated by a voltage step. This fluctuation
eventually decays to a settled current reading. The higher the capacitance, the more ringing that
will occur.
Table 3-5 lists the maximum capacitive loads that the Model 6430 can accommodate effec-
tively. For the higher current ranges (1nA range and higher), the listed values represent the larg-
est capacitance in which ringing created by a voltage step will decay in less than one power line
cycle. For the lower current ranges (100pA and lower), the listed values represent the largest
capacitance that causes ringing that will settle in a reasonable amount of time.
Current measurements can be performed for higher capacitive loads as long as the increased
ringing can be tolerated. Ringing can be reduced by adding a resistor in a series with the load at
the expense of longer settling times. See
Source capacitance
in Appendix F for more
information
.
T
a
b
le 3
-5
Maximum capacitive loads
Current range
Maximum
Capacitive Load
100mA
0.2µF
10mA
0.2µF
1mA
0.2µF
100µA
0.04µF
10µA
3300pF
1µA
470pF
100nA
100pF
10nA
100pF
1nA
100pF
100pA
100pF
10pA
100pF
1pA
100pF
Summary of Contents for 6430
Page 26: ......
Page 32: ......
Page 78: ...2 14 Connections ...
Page 98: ...3 20 Basic Source Measure Operation ...
Page 138: ...5 30 Source Measure Concepts ...
Page 156: ...6 18 Range Digits Speed and Filters ...
Page 168: ...7 12 Relative and Math ...
Page 176: ...8 8 Data Store ...
Page 202: ...9 26 Sweep Operation ...
Page 248: ...11 22 Limit Testing ...
Page 310: ...16 6 SCPI Signal Oriented Measurement Commands ...
Page 418: ...17 108 SCPI Command Reference ...
Page 450: ...18 32 Performance Verification ...
Page 477: ...A Specifications ...
Page 489: ...B StatusandErrorMessages ...
Page 498: ...B 10 Status and Error Messages ...
Page 499: ...C DataFlow ...
Page 503: ...D IEEE 488BusOverview ...
Page 518: ...D 16 IEEE 488 Bus Overview ...
Page 519: ...E IEEE 488andSCPI ConformanceInformation ...
Page 523: ...F MeasurementConsiderations ...
Page 539: ...G GPIB488 1Protocol ...
Page 557: ......