Keithley debuts software upgrade and switch/multimeter options
By Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief -- EDN, July 24, 2008
Keithley Instruments at Semicon West, which took place in San Francisco last month, introduced Version 7.1 of the KTEI (Keithley Test Environment Interactive) for the company’s Model 4200-SCS semiconductor-characterization system. The company also announced an expansion of its Series 3700 system switch/multimeter and plug-in card family.
The KTEI software upgrade broadens the capabilities of the Model 4200-CVU (capacitance-voltage unit), offering software support for characterizing high-power semiconductor devices at voltages as high as 200V dc or 400V differential voltage and currents as high as 300 mA. This capability is useful for engineers working with LDMOS (laterally diffused metal-oxide semiconductor) and other high-power semiconductor devices in automotive, display, MEMS (microelectromechanical-system), and other high-power applications. KTEI Version 7.1 also adds software support for other new functions, including differential-dc bias and quasistatic capacitance/voltage testing. It offers an expanded set of device-test libraries, as well as a variety of software enhancements to speed and simplify testing.
The company added the Model 3724 dual-1X30 solid-state-FET relay-multiplexer card and the Model 3750 multifunction-I/O card to the Series 3700 system switch/multimeter and plug-in card family. The Model 3724 card features scanning speeds of greater than 1000 channels/sec, including measurement, and switch-only scan rates of greater than 1200 channels/sec. The card also offers 200V, 0.1A switch/carry capacity with offset current of less than 10 nA. You can automatically configure the solid-state relays into either a dual 1×30 or 1×60 multiplexer. The card also features temperature-measurement capability with automatic CJC (cold-junction-compensation) sensors when you use them with the optional screw-terminal accessory.
The Model 3750 multifunction-I/O card features 40 digital-I/O channels with high-current-driver outputs that can sink as much as 300 mA, allowing them to directly drive relays without any interface circuitry. The Model 3750 also features two programmable analog outputs offering both voltage- and current-programmable isolated analog outputs, including 0 to 20 mA, 4 to 20 mA, or ±12V dc. It also comes with four totalizers/counters with 32-bit resolution and has a 1-MHz input rate. The Model 3724 sells for $1595, and the Model 3750 sells for $1250 (one).
