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2600S-901-01 Rev. C / January 2008
Section 4: Basic Operation
Series 2600 System SourceMeter® Instruments Reference Manual
Power measurements
Power calculations
Power readings are calculated from the sourced and measured current or voltage as follows:
P = V
×
I
Where: P is the calculated power
V is the sourced or measured voltage
I is the measured or sourced current
Basic power measurement procedure
Perform the following steps to perform power measurements. The following procedure assumes
that the SourceMeter is already connected to the DUT as explained in
WARNING
Hazardous voltages may be present on the output and guard
terminals. To prevent electrical shock that could cause injury or
death, NEVER make or break connections to the Series 2600 while
the output is on. Power off the equipment from the front panel or
disconnect the main power cord from the rear of the SourceMeter
before handling cables connected to the outputs. Putting the
equipment into standby does not guarantee the outputs are not
powered if a hardware or software fault occurs.
1. For the Model 2602/2612/2636, press the DISPLAY key to select the single-channel display
mode.
2. Set source function and value. Press SRC to select the voltage or current source function
as required, then set the output voltage or current to the desired value. See Step 1 of
panel source-measure procedure"
described earlier in this section.
3. Press the LIMIT key, and set the voltage or current limit high enough for the expected
voltage or current across the DUT to be measured. See Step 2 of
4. Press the MEAS or MODE key to display power.
5. Turn on the output, then note the reading on the display. If necessary, press the TRIG key to
display continuous readings.
6. Turn off the output when finished.
Remote power programming
The following paragraphs summarize basic commands necessary for remote power programming
and also give a programming example for a typical power measurement situation.
Remote power command
Use the following command to obtain a power reading:
reading = smuX.measure.p()
for more commands necessary to set up source and measure functions and also
Section 12 for more details.
