Tektronix Keithley SourceMeter 2470 User manual

Reference Manual
2470-901-01 Rev. A / May 2019
*P2470-901-01A*
2470-901-01A
tek.com/keithley
Model 2470
High Voltage SourceMeter®Instrument

High Voltage SourceMeter Instrument
Reference Manual
2470

©2019, Keithley Instruments, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
All rights reserved.
Any unauthorized reproduction, photocopy, or use of the information herein, in whole or in part,
without the prior written approval of Keithley Instruments, LLC, isstrictly prohibited.
These are the original instructions in English.
TSP®, TSP-Link®,and TSP-Net®are trademarks of Keithley Instruments, LLC.All Keithley
Instruments product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Keithley Instruments, LLC.
Other brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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Document number: 2470-901-01 Rev. A / May 2019

Safety precautions
The following safety precautions should be observed before using this product and any associated instrumentation. Although
some instruments and accessories would normally be used with nonhazardous voltages, there are situations where hazardous
conditions may be present.
This product is intended for use by personnel who recognize shock hazards and are familiar with the safety precautions required
to avoid possible injury. Read and follow all installation, operation, and maintenance information carefully before using the
product. Refer to the user documentation for complete product specifications.
If the product is used in a manner not specified, the protection provided by the product warranty may be impaired.
The types of product users are:
Responsible body is the individual or group responsible for the use and maintenance of equipment, for ensuring that the
equipment is operated within its specifications and operating limits, and for ensuring that operators are adequately trained.
Operators use the product for its intended function. They must be trained in electrical safety procedures and proper use of the
instrument. They must be protected from electric shock and contact with hazardous live circuits.
Maintenance personnel perform routine procedures on the product to keep it operating properly, for example, setting the line
voltage or replacing consumable materials. Maintenance procedures are described in the user documentation. The procedures
explicitly state if the operator may perform them. Otherwise, they should be performed only by service personnel.
Service personnel are trained to work on live circuits, perform safe installations, and repair products. Only properly trained
service personnel may perform installation and service procedures.
Keithley products are designed for use with electrical signals that are measurement, control, and data I/O connections, with low
transient overvoltages, and must not be directly connected to mains voltage or to voltage sources with high transient
overvoltages. Measurement Category II (as referenced in IEC 60664) connections require protection for high transient
overvoltages often associated with local AC mains connections. Certain Keithley measuring instruments may be connected to
mains. These instruments will be marked as category II or higher.
Unless explicitly allowed in the specifications, operating manual, and instrument labels, do not connect any instrument to mains.
Exercise extreme caution when a shock hazard is present. Lethal voltage may be present on cable connector jacks or test
fixtures. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) states that a shock hazard exists when voltage levels greater than
30 V RMS, 42.4 V peak, or 60 VDC are present. A good safety practice is to expect that hazardous voltage is present in any
unknown circuit before measuring.
Operators of this product must be protected from electric shock at all times. The responsible body must ensure that operators
are prevented access and/or insulated from every connection point. In some cases, connections must be exposed to potential
human contact. Product operators in these circumstances must be trained to protect themselves from the risk of electric shock. If
the circuit is capable of operating at or above 1000 V, no conductive part of the circuit may be exposed.
Do not connect switching cards directly to unlimited power circuits. They are intended to be used with impedance-limited
sources. NEVER connect switching cards directly to AC mains. When connecting sources to switching cards, install protective
devices to limit fault current and voltage to the card.
Before operating an instrument, ensure that the line cord is connected to a properly-grounded power receptacle. Inspect the
connecting cables, test leads, and jumpers for possible wear, cracks, or breaks before each use.
When installing equipment where access to the main power cord is restricted, such as rack mounting, a separate main input
power disconnect device must be provided in close proximity to the equipment and within easy reach of the operator.
For maximum safety, do not touch the product, test cables, or any other instruments while power is applied to the circuit under
test. ALWAYS remove power from the entire test system and discharge any capacitors before: connecting or disconnecting
cables or jumpers, installing or removing switching cards, or making internal changes, such as installing or removing jumpers.
Do not touch any object that could provide a current path to the common side of the circuit under test or power line (earth)
ground. Always make measurements with dry hands while standing on a dry, insulated surface capable of withstanding the
voltage being measured.

For safety, instruments and accessories must be used in accordance with the operating instructions. If the instruments or
accessories are used in a manner not specified in the operating instructions, the protection provided by the equipment may be
impaired.
Do not exceed the maximum signal levels of the instruments and accessories. Maximum signal levels are defined in the
specifications and operating information and shown on the instrument panels, test fixture panels, and switching cards.
When fuses are used in a product, replace with the same type and rating for continued protection against fire hazard.
Chassis connections must only be used as shield connections for measuring circuits, NOT as protective earth (safety ground)
connections.
If you are using a test fixture, keep the lid closed while power is applied to the device under test. Safe operation requires the use
of a lid interlock.
If a screw is present, connect it to protective earth (safety ground) using the wire recommended in the user documentation.
The symbol on an instrument means caution, risk of hazard. The user must refer to the operating instructions located in the
user documentation in all cases where the symbol is marked on the instrument.
The symbol on an instrument means warning, risk of electric shock. Use standard safety precautions to avoid personal
contact with these voltages.
The symbol on an instrument shows that the surface may be hot. Avoid personal contact to prevent burns.
The symbol indicates a connection terminal to the equipment frame.
If this symbol is on a product, it indicates that mercury is present in the display lamp. Please note that the lamp must be
properly disposed of according to federal, state, and local laws.
The WARNING heading in the user documentation explains hazards that might result in personal injury or death. Always read
the associated information very carefully before performing the indicated procedure.
The CAUTION heading in the user documentation explains hazards that could damage the instrument. Such damage may
invalidate the warranty.
The CAUTION heading with the symbol in the user documentation explains hazards that could result in moderate or minor
injury or damage the instrument. Always read the associated information very carefully before performing the indicated
procedure. Damage to the instrument may invalidate the warranty.
Instrumentation and accessories shall not be connected to humans.
Before performing any maintenance, disconnect the line cord and all test cables.
To maintain protection from electric shock and fire, replacement components in mains circuits — including the power
transformer, test leads, and input jacks — must be purchased from Keithley. Standard fuses with applicable national safety
approvals may be used if the rating and type are the same. The detachable mains power cord provided with the instrument may
only be replaced with a similarly rated power cord. Other components that are not safety-related may be purchased from other
suppliers as long as they are equivalent to the original component (note that selected parts should be purchased only through
Keithley to maintain accuracy and functionality of the product). If you are unsure about the applicability of a replacement
component, call a Keithley office for information.
Unless otherwise noted in product-specific literature, Keithley instruments are designed to operate indoors only, in the following
environment: Altitude at or below 2,000 m (6,562 ft); temperature 0 °C to 50 °C (32 °F to 122 °F); and pollution degree 1 or 2.
To clean an instrument, use a cloth dampened with deionized water or mild, water-based cleaner. Clean the exterior of the
instrument only. Do not apply cleaner directly to the instrument or allow liquids to enter or spill on the instrument. Products that
consist of a circuit board with no case or chassis (e.g., a data acquisition board for installation into a computer) should never
require cleaning if handled according to instructions. If the board becomes contaminated and operation is affected, the board
should be returned to the factory for proper cleaning/servicing.
Safety precaution revision as of June 2017.

Introduction................................................................................................................1-1
Welcome.............................................................................................................................. 1-1
Extended warranty............................................................................................................... 1-2
Contact information.............................................................................................................. 1-2
Organization of manual sections.......................................................................................... 1-2
Features............................................................................................................................... 1-3
General ratings..................................................................................................................... 1-4
Installation..................................................................................................................2-1
Dimensions .......................................................................................................................... 2-1
Handle and bumpers............................................................................................................ 2-6
Removing the handle and bumpers ..........................................................................................2-6
Instrument power ................................................................................................................. 2-8
Connect the power cord............................................................................................................2-8
Power the instrument on or off ..................................................................................................2-9
Remote communications interfaces..................................................................................... 2-9
Supported remote interfaces...................................................................................................2-10
Comparison of the communications interfaces........................................................................2-10
GPIB setup..............................................................................................................................2-11
LAN communications ..............................................................................................................2-16
USB communications.............................................................................................................. 2-25
2470 web interface..................................................................................................................2-29
How to install the Keithley I/O Layer .......................................................................................2-36
Modifying, repairing, or removing Keithley I/O Layer software................................................2-36
Instrument access.............................................................................................................. 2-37
Changing the instrument access mode...................................................................................2-37
Changing the password ..........................................................................................................2-38
Switching control interfaces.....................................................................................................2-39
Determining the command set you will use....................................................................... 2-39
System information ............................................................................................................ 2-40
Instrument description ..............................................................................................3-1
Front-panel overview............................................................................................................ 3-1
Rear-panel overview............................................................................................................ 3-3
Turn the 2470 output on or off ............................................................................................. 3-4
Touchscreen display............................................................................................................ 3-5
Select items on the touchscreen...............................................................................................3-5
Enter information.......................................................................................................................3-6
Adjust the backlight brightness and dimmer..............................................................................3-7
Event messages........................................................................................................................3-9
Screen descriptions.............................................................................................................. 3-9
Home screen.............................................................................................................................3-9
Table of contents

Table of contents
2470 High Voltage SourceMeter Instrument
Reference Manual
Menu overview................................................................................................................... 3-19
QuickSet menu........................................................................................................................3-19
Source menu........................................................................................................................... 3-20
Measure menu ........................................................................................................................3-22
Views menu.............................................................................................................................3-27
Trigger menu........................................................................................................................... 3-32
Scripts menu...........................................................................................................................3-35
System menu..........................................................................................................................3-36
Display features ................................................................................................................. 3-40
Setting the number of displayed digits ....................................................................................3-40
Setting the display format........................................................................................................3-41
Customizing a message for the USER swipe screen..............................................................3-42
Creating messages for interactive prompts.............................................................................3-43
Save screen captures to a USB flash drive.............................................................................3-44
Instrument sounds.............................................................................................................. 3-44
Saving setups..................................................................................................................... 3-45
Save a user setup to internal memory.....................................................................................3-45
Save a user setup to a USB flash drive................................................................................... 3-46
Copy a user setup...................................................................................................................3-46
Delete a user setup.................................................................................................................3-47
Recall a user setup .................................................................................................................3-47
Define the setup used when power is turned on .....................................................................3-48
Resets................................................................................................................................ 3-49
Reset the instrument...............................................................................................................3-50
Using the event log............................................................................................................ 3-50
Information provided for each event log entry.........................................................................3-51
Event log settings.................................................................................................................... 3-51
Effects of errors on scripts ......................................................................................................3-52
Saving front-panel settings into a macro script.................................................................. 3-53
Recording a macro script ........................................................................................................3-53
Running a macro script ...........................................................................................................3-54
Front-panel macro recording limitations..................................................................................3-54
Sourcing and measuring...........................................................................................4-1
Test connections.................................................................................................................. 4-1
Basic connections.....................................................................................................................4-2
Using the interlock.....................................................................................................................4-3
Front- or rear-panel test connections ........................................................................................4-5
Two-wire compared to four-wire measurements.......................................................................4-7
Test fixtures.............................................................................................................................4-14
Output-off state .......................................................................................................................4-16
Source-measure overview................................................................................................. 4-19
Source and measure order...................................................................................................... 4-20
Source and measure through the front panel..........................................................................4-20
Source and measure using SCPI commands..........................................................................4-31
Source and measure using TSP commands...........................................................................4-32
Protection........................................................................................................................... 4-33
Overvoltage protection............................................................................................................4-34
Source limits............................................................................................................................4-35
Ranges............................................................................................................................... 4-37
Source range...........................................................................................................................4-37
Measurement range................................................................................................................4-39

2470
High Voltage SourceMeter Instrument Reference Manual Table
of contents
Automatic reference measurements.................................................................................. 4-42
Setting autozero......................................................................................................................4-43
Source readback................................................................................................................ 4-44
Setting source readback .........................................................................................................4-44
Source delay...................................................................................................................... 4-45
Setting the source delay..........................................................................................................4-46
Relative offset .................................................................................................................... 4-46
Establishing a relative offset value..........................................................................................4-47
Disabling the relative offset..................................................................................................... 4-49
Calculations that you can apply to measurements............................................................ 4-49
mx+b.......................................................................................................................................4-50
Percent....................................................................................................................................4-50
Reciprocal (1/X) ......................................................................................................................4-51
Setting percent math operations .............................................................................................4-51
Setting mx+b math operations ................................................................................................4-52
Setting reciprocal math operations..........................................................................................4-52
Switching math on the SETTINGS swipe screen....................................................................4-53
Displayed measurements........................................................................................................4-53
Sweep operation................................................................................................................ 4-54
Linear staircase sweep ........................................................................................................... 4-54
Logarithmic staircase sweep...................................................................................................4-55
Setting up a sweep..................................................................................................................4-56
Aborting a sweep ....................................................................................................................4-62
Sweep programming examples...............................................................................................4-63
Increasing the speed of sweeps..............................................................................................4-65
Limit testing and binning.................................................................................................... 4-66
Limit testing using the front-panel interface.............................................................................4-66
Set up a limit test using the remote interface ..........................................................................4-68
Configuration lists............................................................................................................... 4-83
Instrument configuration..........................................................................................................4-83
What is a configuration list? ....................................................................................................4-84
What is a configuration index?................................................................................................4-85
What settings are stored in a configuration list?......................................................................4-86
Creating, storing, and performing operations on configuration lists and indexes ....................4-89
Using the front panel for configuration list operations .............................................................4-89
Using remote commands for configuration list operations.......................................................4-95
Source-measure considerations ..............................................................................5-1
Circuit configurations............................................................................................................ 5-1
Source current...........................................................................................................................5-2
Source voltage..........................................................................................................................5-3
Operating boundaries........................................................................................................... 5-4
Current source operating boundaries........................................................................................5-5
Voltage limit boundary examples ..............................................................................................5-5
Current limit boundary examples...............................................................................................5-7
Output transient recovery..................................................................................................... 5-8
Load regulation .................................................................................................................... 5-8
Using NPLCs to adjust speed and accuracy........................................................................ 5-9
Noise shield........................................................................................................................ 5-11
Safety shield....................................................................................................................... 5-11

Table of contents
2470 High Voltage SourceMeter Instrument Reference
Manual
Safety shielding.......................................................................................................................5-12
Noise and chassis ground.................................................................................................. 5-12
Floating the 2470 ............................................................................................................... 5-13
Guarding ............................................................................................................................ 5-15
Using guard with a test fixture.................................................................................................5-16
Guard circuit drawing ..............................................................................................................5-16
Sink operation.................................................................................................................... 5-17
Battery charge and discharge............................................................................................ 5-18
Measurement settling time considerations......................................................................... 5-19
Overtemperature protection............................................................................................... 5-20
Current breakdown protection............................................................................................ 5-20
Calculating accuracy.......................................................................................................... 5-21
Calculating source or measure accuracy ................................................................................5-21
Calculate accuracy of a resistance measurement made by sourcing I and measuring V........5-22
Offset-compensated ohm calculations............................................................................... 5-23
Power calculations............................................................................................................. 5-23
High-capacitance operation............................................................................................... 5-24
Enabling the high capacitance feature ....................................................................................5-24
Filtering measurement data............................................................................................... 5-25
Repeating average filter..........................................................................................................5-25
Moving average filter...............................................................................................................5-26
Setting up the averaging filter..................................................................................................5-26
Order of operations............................................................................................................ 5-27
Reset default values........................................................................................................... 5-28
Default values .........................................................................................................................5-28
Reading buffers..........................................................................................................6-1
Introduction to reading buffers............................................................................................. 6-1
Getting started with buffers.................................................................................................. 6-2
Types of reading buffers ...........................................................................................................6-2
Effects of reset and power cycle on buffers...............................................................................6-2
Buffer fill status..........................................................................................................................6-2
Timestamps...............................................................................................................................6-4
Creating buffers.................................................................................................................... 6-5
Setting reading buffer options.............................................................................................. 6-9
Setting reading buffer capacity................................................................................................6-10
Setting the fill mode.................................................................................................................6-12
Selecting a buffer............................................................................................................... 6-14
Using the front panel to store readings in the selected buffer ........................................... 6-17
Viewing and saving buffer content..................................................................................... 6-18
Clearing buffers.................................................................................................................. 6-24
Deleting buffers.................................................................................................................. 6-25
Remote buffer operation.................................................................................................... 6-25

2470
High Voltage SourceMeter Instrument Reference Manual Table
of contents
Storing data in buffers.............................................................................................................6-26
Accessing the data in buffers..................................................................................................6-28
Buffer read-only attributes.......................................................................................................6-29
Reading buffer time and date values.......................................................................................6-30
Reading buffer for . . . do loops...............................................................................................6-30
Writable reading buffers..........................................................................................................6-31
Graphing.....................................................................................................................7-1
Graphing .............................................................................................................................. 7-1
Setting up the Graph tab...........................................................................................................7-1
Using the Graph tab..................................................................................................................7-4
Binning data with the Histogram.......................................................................................... 7-5
Setting up the Histogram...........................................................................................................7-6
Triggering ...................................................................................................................8-1
Measurement methods ........................................................................................................ 8-1
Continuous measurement triggering .........................................................................................8-1
Trigger key triggering ................................................................................................................8-2
Trigger model triggering............................................................................................................8-2
Switching between measurement methods...............................................................................8-2
Triggering............................................................................................................................. 8-3
Command interface triggering...................................................................................................8-3
Triggering using hardware lines................................................................................................8-4
LAN triggering overview............................................................................................................8-4
Trigger timers............................................................................................................................8-5
Event blenders ..........................................................................................................................8-9
Interactive triggering................................................................................................................8-10
Digital I/O ........................................................................................................................... 8-12
Digital I/O connector and pinouts............................................................................................8-13
Digital I/O port configuration....................................................................................................8-13
Digital I/O lines........................................................................................................................8-16
Remote digital I/O commands.................................................................................................8-23
Digital I/O bit weighting ...........................................................................................................8-24
Digital I/O programming examples..........................................................................................8-24
Trigger model..................................................................................................................... 8-27
Trigger model blocks...............................................................................................................8-28
Predefined trigger models.......................................................................................................8-46
Assembling trigger model blocks.............................................................................................8-48
Running the trigger model.......................................................................................................8-51
Using trigger events to start actions in the trigger model ........................................................ 8-53
TSP-Link and TSP-Net ...............................................................................................9-1
TSP-Link System Expansion Interface ................................................................................ 9-1
TSP-Link connections ...............................................................................................................9-1
TSP-Link nodes.........................................................................................................................9-3
Master and subordinates...........................................................................................................9-4
Initializing the TSP-Link system ................................................................................................9-4
Sending commands to TSP-Link nodes....................................................................................9-5
Using the reset() command.......................................................................................................9-5
Terminating scripts on the TSP-Link system.............................................................................9-6
Triggering using TSP-Link trigger lines .....................................................................................9-6
Running simultaneous test scripts.............................................................................................9-6
Using 2470 TSP-Link commands with other TSP-Link products............................................. 9-12