04 | Keysight | B2980A Series Femto/Picoammeter and Electrometer/High Resistance Meter - Data Sheet

Solution 1. The B2980A series’ time domain view (Roll View) lets you

visually choose when to capture data.

The B2980A series’ GUI provides a Roll View that can graphically display data as it is

taken and that also can store up to 100,000 of these data points for later retrieval. With

a sampling rate of up to 100 kHz, the Roll View can reveal real-time measurement trends

and provide valuable insights into the dynamics of your DUT’s behavior. To facilitate this

data analysis, the B2980A series provides flexible graphing capabilities. In Graph View

the electrometers can plot I-V curves on their displays using values from either the

internal voltage source or voltage measurement data. In addition, it is easy to generate

a variety of other X-Y plots such as I-t, V-t, R-t, Q-t, I-R, etc. (specific graphical display

capabilities depend on product model). These powerful and versatile graphical capabilities

allow you to gain valuable insights when making sensitive measurements.

How fast can the B2980A

series capture data?

Measurement speed is usually

determined by the aperture time of

the integration setting, which is typi-

cally proportional to some number

of power line cycles (PLCs). Smaller

aperture times are obviously more

desirable as long as they provide

sufficient averaging to prevent

power line noise from affecting the

measurement.

However, conventional instruments

often cannot capture fast transients

due to their relatively slow reading

rates that require long overhead

after the aperture closes. In

contrast, the B2980A series’ fast

reading rate (20,000 rdg/s) and

streamlined system architecture

greatly reduce overhead time. As

a result the B2980A series does

not lose data sampling capability

even in its minimum PLC setting,

allowing it to capture more detailed

DUT responses. The example

below compares the data sampling

capability of a conventional

instrument with that of the B2980A

series. As this example shows, the

B2980A series can capture data

with x4 better timing resolution due

to its low measurement overhead.

Original waveform

Conventional instrument

Keysight B2980A series

Time domain view (Roll View)

Data recorded up to 100,000 points

The B2980A series’ unmatched 0.01 fA resolution combines with other

unique features to solve previously intractable measurement challenges

Solution 2. You can instantly view and evaluate data distributions

using the real-time histogram feature

All low-level measurements carry with them a degree of statistical uncertainty due to

inherent fluctuations in the measurement environment. The conventional method to deal

with this issue involves post-measurement evaluation of the data (usually on a PC) using

a histogram. However, this process can become tedious if you need to perform several

measurement and test setup debug cycles.

Challenge 2: Instruments with only

numeric displays often exhibit instability

in their least significant digits and offer

no information about the measurement’s

mean and standard deviation.

How does the measurement

result distribute?

Challenge 1: Instruments that only

have numeric displays do not give

you any control over when to take

data during a transient response.

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When should I take the

measurement data?

When should I take the

measurement data?