Keysight Technologies B2961A User manual

Keysight Technologies
Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal
Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A
B2961A/62A 6.5 Digit Low Noise Power Source
Demo Guide

Table of Contents
Introduction ...............................................................3
Concept .................................................................4
Setup ....................................................................5
Oscilloscope Setup .......................................................5
B2961A/62A Setup.......................................................5
LAB1: Source nite current/voltage sinusoid waveform............................6
1.1 Source nite current/voltage sinusoid waveform ............................6
1.2 (Optional) Congure phase marker output ................................10
1.3 Monitor the entire output signal on its GUI ................................12
1.4 View the list of measurement results.....................................14
LAB2: Source continuous current/voltage sinusoid waveform .....................15
2.1 Source continuous current/voltage sinusoid waveform ......................15
2.2 Stop sourcing continuous current/voltage sinusoid waveform ................16
LAB3: Sourcing current/voltage sinusoid waveform without monitoring .............17
LAB4: (Optional) Source current/voltage sinusoid waveform when the B2961A/62A
receives an external trigger signal ............................................18

Introduction
The Keysight B2961A/62A 6.5 Digit Low Noise Power Source is a bench-top power
supply with revolutionary capabilities and functions not previously available. It can
source either voltage or current with 6.5 digits of resolution while also monitoring them,
which is essential for a variety of measurement applications.
It also has an arbitrary waveform generation function that allows it to source current/
voltage waveforms in formats such as sinusoid, square, trapezoid, ramp, triangle, and
exponential. In addition to these commonly used waveforms, user-dened arbitrary
waveforms with up to 100,000 points can be specied. These exible output capabilities
permit more thorough evaluation of circuits/devices/samples than are possible with
other instruments such as power supplies and sources.
This demonstration guide highlights the excellent arbitrary waveform generation
functions of the B2961A/62A Power Source. The methodology involves sourcing a
sinusoidal current/voltage waveform through a 1.1 kΩ resistor and monitoring the
outputs through an oscilloscope.
Required Instrument and Accessories
All of the accessories required to perform the primary demos described in this demonstration
guide are provided in a demo kit that is included with Keysight B2961A/62A demo units. The
kit includes items such as a banana cable, a 1.1 kΩ resistor, etc., so the only additional item
needed is an oscilloscope.
However, some of the optional demos require special cables or wiring to send phase marker
outputs or to receive trigger signals. These optional items are the N1253A-100 Digital I/O
T-cable or (alternatively) the N1294A-031 GPIO - BNC Trigger Adapter and a BNC cable. An
instrument that can send the external trigger signal to the B2961A/62A will be also required
for the optional demos.
Keysight B2961A/62A 6.5 Digit
Low Noise Power Source
Keysight Oscilloscopes
(MSO-X 4000 Series is shown)
N1253A-100 Digital I/O T-cable
1.1 kΩ Resistor
U8201A Combo Test Lead Kit
N1294A-031 GPIO - BNC Trigger Adapter
03 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

Figure 1. Connection diagram and basic condition
Concept
Figure 1 illustrates the connection diagram and basic setup conditions used in the
demo to source current/voltage sinusoidal waveforms using the B2961A/62A. The
B2961A/62A will source a sinusoidal waveform using the settings shown below while
the output is monitored using an oscilloscope.
Figure 2 shows the parameters used to dene a sinusoid waveform from the instrument’s
front panel. Once these parameters have been specied, the specied source value is
output immediately after pressing . Next, after you press the instrument will
source a sinusoid waveform.
Although the guide shows how to source a sinusoid waveform in voltage source mode,
by selecting current source mode you can also source a current sinusoid waveform very
easily and accurately.
B2961A/62A
Figure 2. Sinusoid waveform parameters
Output ON
Source
Value
Output
Off State
V or I
Time
Offset
Press Trigger
VA
VA
f
: Amplitude
: Frequency
1/f 1/f 1/f
VA
04 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

Setup
Oscilloscope Setup
1. Set Ch1 vertical scale to 500 mV/div and horizontal scale to 5 ms/div.
2. Set Ch1 Input Impedance to 1M Ohm.
B2961A/62A Setup
1. Connect the banana cables to the B2961A/62A’s Ch1 High/Low Force Terminals
2. Connect the alligator clips to the ends of the 1.1 kΩ resistor.
3. Probe across the 1.1 kΩ resistor to monitor the output using the oscilloscope.
1.1 kΩ
Resistor U8201A
To oscilloscope’s input B2961A/62A
05 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

LAB1: Source Finite Current/Voltage Sinusoid Waveform
Objective
This demo illustrates the arbitrary
waveform generation function by
sourcing a current/voltage sinusoid
waveform and monitoring the outputs
using an oscilloscope.
Procedure
1. Source nite current/voltage
sinusoid waveform
2. (Optional) Congure phase
marker output
3. Monitor the entire output signal
on its GUI
4. View the list of measurement results
Demonstration
1-1. Source a nite current/voltage sinusoid waveform
1) Press repeatedly until the Channel 1 Single View is displayed.
2) Press to edit the Source function, and then select to set the Source function
to Voltage source. (If you selected to set the Source function to Current source then it
would source a current waveform.)
3) Press to edit the Source value, and enter 0.5 V to set the Source value to 0.5 V.
4) Press to edit the Limit value, and enter 10 mA to set the Limit value to 10 mA.
5) Press to congure the Monitor parameter,and select to set the
Monitor parameter to Current.
Note:
Although this guide shows a voltage
sinusoid waveform example, you
can easily source a current sinusoid
waveform by selecting Current Source
Mode in step 2.
06 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

6) Press to toggle the Assist keys, and press to display the Waveform Preview. This
enables you to verify the waveform conguration on the instrument’s GUI.
7) Rotate and press to select the edit Function. Then press repeatedly until
is shown in the Assist keys.
8) Press to turn on the Sinusoid Waveform Output. After turning on the Sinusoid
Waveform Output, you can see that the Source Shape icon has changed to indicate a sinusoid
waveform output.
9) Rotate to select the Channel 1 Waveform Parameters and enter values as shown below.
(Amplitude: 1 V, Offset: 0.5 V, Count: 5, Frequency: 100 Hz)
10) Press repeatedly until the Graph View is shown in the display.
07 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

11) Press to enable the channel, and then press to source the waveform and monitor
the signal. (The status information will display during the waveform sourcing.)
12) Press to adjust the scale of the graph after the waveform sourcing is complete. You will see
the monitored current result on the B2961A/62A’s GUI as shown below.
Result on B2961A/62A’s GUI
To conrm the output voltage waveform, perform the following procedure.
13) Rotate and press to edit Y-axis data type, and select to set the Y-axis data type
to Voltage.
Now you can see the monitored output voltage waveform on the B2961A/62A’s GUI as shown below
Result on B2961A/62A’s GUI
08 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

Result on Oscilloscope
Why use the B2960A Series’
Arbitrary Waveform
Generation Function?
Some conventional power supplies
can also generate waveforms but
the signal integrity is not good.
For example, although the B2960A
Series can supply clean & smooth
waveforms as shown below, a
conventional power supply output
has discontinuities.
Conventional Power Supply
B2960A Series
09 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

1-2. (Optional) Congure phase marker output
If desired you can enable the phase marker output function to dene a specic point on a
waveform anywhere from 0 to 360 degrees. The phase marker output signal is sourced through
the digital I/O port. To monitor the phase marker output signal with an oscilloscope, the
N1294A-031 adapter is needed to connect the digital I/O port to the scope’s input using
a BNC cable.
1) Press repeatedly until the Single View for Channel 1 is shown in the display.
2) Rotate and press to edit the Phase marker output status, and then select to
enable the phase marker output.
3) Rotate and press to edit the Phase marker output value and enter 90 degrees as
shown in the screen capture below.
Note: The default setting routes the phase marker output signal through digital I/O port 1;
however, the signal port can be changed by sending the instrument an external SCPI command
“[:SOURce]:ARB:<CURRent|VOLTage>:SINusoid:PMARker:SIGNal”
4) If you are not on the top Function menu, press repeatedly until you are back
at the top level
At the top level of the Function menu No tree structure is visible
A tree structure is visible
At a lower level in the Function menu
10 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

5) Press , , , and then press to open the DIO Conguration dialogue.
6) Press and select to specify the Digital I/O pin number; the properties of this
pin is what we will congure.
7) Rotate to select the Input/output function and press to edit it. Then press
to set the function to Trigger output.
8) Rotate to select Polarity and press to edit it. Then press to set the polarity
to Positive; this will output a positive logic signal.
9) Rotate to select the Pulse width of the phase marker output and press to edit it.
Then enter 500 µs to set the Pulse width to 500 µs.
(1) Press More...
(2) Press I/O
(3) Press DIO
(4) Press Cong
11 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

10) Press to save the changes.
You can now see the monitored output voltage waveform and the phase marker output signal on
the oscilloscope as shown below.
Oscilloscope waveforms
1-3. Monitor the entire output signal on its GUI
The default settings of the B2961A/62A make it monitor only the rst waveform even if multiple
waveforms are congured on the instrument. However, you can modify the Trigger Parameters to
monitor the B2961A/62A‘s entire output and eliminate the need for an oscilloscope.
The following example shows how to modify the B2961A/62A’s parameters to capture the entire
waveform in Graph View.
1) Press repeatedly until the Single View for Channel 1 is shown on the display.
2) Press to toggle the displayed Assist keys, and then press to display the
Trigger Sub-Panel.
Channel
output signal
Phase marker
output from
the Digital I/O
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3) Press to edit the Trigger type, and then select to set the Trigger type to TIMER;
this will make a time domain measurement.
4) Rotate to select the Trigger Parameters for Channel 1 and congure them as
shown below. These parameters dene the number of the measurement points and the
measurement interval.
(Measurement Trigger Count: 5000, Measurement Trigger Period: 10us)
5) Press repeatedly until Graph View is shown in the display.
6) Press to source the waveform and monitor the signal.
(The status information will display during the waveform sourcing.)
7) Press to adjust the graph scale after the waveform sourcing is complete.
You can now see the complete waveform on the B2961A/62A’s GUI as shown below.
13 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

1-4. View a list of the measurement results
The measurement results including the measurement time stamp can be referred by
the following steps.
1) If you are not on the top of the Function menu, press repeatedly until you are
back at the top level.
2) To see a list of the measurement results, press and then press to open the
Measure Result dialogue.
3) Rotate and press to select the Data type eld.
4) Press to toggle the displayed Assist keys and then press to select Time as
the Data type.
5) Rotate and press to select the Data eld. You can then rotate to scroll
through the data list.
At the top level of the Function menu No tree structure is visible
A tree structure is visible
At a lower level in the Function menu
(1) Press Result
(2) Press Measure
14 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

Demonstration
2-1. Source continuous current/voltage sinusoid waveform
To source a continuous waveform, perform the following procedure.
1) Press repeatedly until the Single View for Channel 1 is shown in the display.
2) If you do not see the Channel 1 Waveform Parameters, press , , or
to show the Channel 1 Waveform Parameters.
3) Rotate and press to edit Count and then press to set the Count to INFINITE.
4) Press to source a continuous waveform.
Result on Oscilloscope
LAB2: Source a continuous current/voltage sinusoid waveform
Objective
This demo shows how to source a
continuous (innite) waveform.
Procedure
1. Source a continuous current/
voltage sinusoid waveform
2. Stop sourcing a continuous
current/voltage sinusoid
waveform
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2-2. Stop sourcing continuous current/voltage sinusoid waveform
If you are sourcing a continuous waveform and you want to stop sourcing it, perform the
following procedure.
1) If you are not on the top Function menu, press repeatedly until you are back
at the top level.
2) Press , , , and then press to stop sourcing the continuous
arbitrary waveform.
At the top level of the Function menu No tree structure is visible
A tree structure is visible
At a lower level in the Function menu
(1) Press Trigger
(2) Press Abort
(3) Press Trans.
(4) Press Ch 1
16 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

Demonstration
To source a waveform without monitoring it, perform the following procedure to execute only
a Transient (Source) Action.
1) If you are not on the top Function menu, press repeatedly until you are back at
the top level.
2) Press , , , and then press to start sourcing the continuous
arbitrary waveform.
At the top level of the Function menu No tree structure is visible
A tree structure is visible
At a lower level in the Function menu
(1) Press Trigger
(2) Press Initiate
(3) Press Trans.
(4) Press Ch 1
LAB3: Sourcing current/voltage sinusoid waveform without monitoring
Objective
Some applications do not require
monitoring of the current/voltage
sinusoid waveform being outputted.
This demo shows how to source
waveforms without monitoring the
voltage or current.
17 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

Demonstration
To set up the instrument to source a current/voltage sinusoid waveform when the
B2961A/62A receives an external trigger signal, perform the following procedure
to congure the Trigger Parameters.
Figure 3 shows the timing diagram for a sinusoid waveform when the instrument
receives an external trigger signal.
Figure 3. Timing chart when sourcing a sinusoid waveform
Figure 4 shows the external trigger signal requirements to initiate device action on the
B2961A/62A. Positive or negative logic can be used.
Figure 4. External trigger signal requirements
1) Rotate and press to edit the Count. Then enter 1to set the Count to 1.
LAB4: (Optional) Source current/voltage sinusoid waveform when the
B2961A/62A receives an external trigger signal
Objective
Some applications require the
synchronization of the B2961A/62A’s
current/voltage sinusoid waveform
output with other instruments.
This demo shows how to congure
the B2961A/62A to source wave-
forms when it receives an external
trigger signal.
Output ON
Source
Value
Output
Off State
V or I
Time
Offset
V
A
V
A
f
: Amplitude
: Frequency
1/f 1/f 1/f
V
A
External Trigger
t
W
: Trigger Pulse Width > 10 µs
t
W
V
Time
Positive Logic
5 V
t
W
V
Time
Negative Logic
5 V
18 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

2) Press to show the Trigger Sub-Panel.
3) Press to edit Trigger type, and then select to set Trigger type to MANUAL.
4) Rotate to select the Source trigger source and press to edit it.
5) Press to toggle the Assist keys, and then press to set the Source trigger source
to EXT1.
6) If you are not on the top Function menu, press repeatedly until you are back at the top level.
At the top level of the Function menu No tree structure is visible
A tree structure is visible
At a lower level in the Function menu
19 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide

7) Press , , , and then press to open the DIO Conguration dialogue.
8) Press and select to specify the Digital I/O pin number; the properties of this pin is
what we will congure.
9) Rotate to select Input/output function and press to edit it. Then press to set
it to Trigger input.
10) Rotate to select Polarity and press to edit it. Then press to set it to
Positive polarity.
11) Press to save the changes.
(1) Press More...
(2) Press I/O
(3) Press DIO
(4) Press Cong
20 | Keysight | Sourcing Precise Current/Voltage Sinusoidal Waveforms Using the B2961A/62A – Demo Guide