Keysight (Agilent) N6705A Product Overview

Agilent DC Power Analyzer

Models: N6705A, N6715A, N6731B-36B,
N6741B-46B, N6751-54A,
N6761A-62A, N6773A-76A

Product Overview

• Ideal for R&D testing and Design Validation

• Sources and measures DC voltage and current into your DUT

• Combines 1 to 4 DC Power Supplies, DMM, Oscilloscope, Arb waveform

generator, and Datalogger in 1 integrated instrument

• Saves time – no programming required

• Eliminates need to gather and configure multiple instruments

• Flexible, modular system: Can mix and match DC source

power levels and measurement performance levels to
optimize investment

• Connect via GPIB, USB or LAN

• Fully compliant to LXI Class C specification

Agilent Technologies

For Power

Solutions

in ATE –

See back cover

Due to increasing time-to-market
pressures, research and devel­opment engineers often find
themselves on tight schedule
to work through DUT testing.
Along with being driven faster,
the R&D engineers can face a
high regret factor should their
haste result in damaging scarce,
complex or expensive DUTs
during product development.
This is a particular concern
when tests involve applying DC
power to a DUT. Furthermore,
test complexity increases when
testing devices that require
multiple input voltages, such
as printed circuit boards.

Today, when performing DC
power-related tests, R&D
engineers must gather and
configure multiple instruments
to complete DC sourcing and
measurement tasks. When
executing these complex tasks,
which can involve simultane­ously connecting to and physi­cally interacting with multiple
test instruments, the risk of
error increases. In response,
R&D engineers may choose
to automate tests that are
too complex to do manually.
Unfortunately, while automating
tasks reduces human error,
writing and debugging programs
adds more work to already
overloaded R&D engineers.

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer represents an entirely
new instrument category for
R&D engineers. It provides
unrivaled productivity gains
when sourcing and measuring
DC voltage and current into
a DUT (Device Under Test).
Using the Agilent N6705A DC
Power Analyzer, R&D engineers
can gain insights into the DUT’s
power consumption in minutes
without writing a single line
of code. It provides an easy-to­use interface, with all sourcing
and measuring functions
available from the front panel.

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer saves time

•

Provides unrivaled productivity
gains for sourcing and
measuring DC voltage and
current into your DUT by
integrating up to 4 advanced
power supplies with DMM,
scope, arb, and datalogger
features.

• Eliminates the need to gather
multiple pieces of equipment,
create complex test setups
including transducers (such
as current probes and shunts)
to measure current into
your DUT.

• Eliminates the need to
develop and debug programs
to control a collection of
instruments and take useful
measurements because all
the functions and measure­ments are available at the
front panel.

Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer makes these tasks
easy, right from the front panel

•

Setup and view critical
turn-on/turn-off sequences

•

Measure and display voltage,
current versus time to
visualize power into the DUT

•

Control DC bias supply
ramp-up/down rates

•

Generate DC bias supply
transients and disturbances

•

Log data for seconds, minutes,
hours, or even days to see
current consumption or
capture anomalies

•

Save data and screen shots
to internal storage or external
USB memory devices

•

Save and name your setup
and tests for easy re-use

•

Share setups with colleagues

2

New Instrument Category for R&D Engineers
to Increase Productivity

R&D Engineers are
Under Time Pressure

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer is a modular system
that is tailorable to meet spe­cific test needs. At the heart of
the DC Power Analyzer is the
DC Power Module. The Agilent
N6705A DC Power Analyzer is
a mainframe that has four slots
to accept one to four DC Power
Modules. Each DC Power Module
takes one slot, except for the
N6754A 300 W High-Performance
Autoranging DC Power Module,
which occupies two slots. This
modular design gives you the
flexibility to mix and match
from 21 different DC Power
Modules to create a solution
optimized to meet specific test
requirements:

The N6730, N6740, and N6770
family of Basic DC Power Modules

50 W, 100 W, and 300 W;
up to 100 V, up to 20 A

The N6750 family of High-Performance
Autoranging DC Power Modules

50 W, 100 W and 300 W; up to 60 V, up to 20 A

The N6760 family of Precision
DC Power Modules

50 W and 100 W; up to 50 V, up to 3 A

3

Modular System Based on
DC Power Supply Outputs

Feature Benefit

Integrates capabilities of power supply, Saves time by eliminating the need to find and
DMM, scope, arb and datalogger interconnect multiple instruments.

Provides synergistic functions not available
from separately connected instruments.

Large color graphics display Fast simple quick set up and monitoring.

Ability to visualize results of multiple channels.

Connections and controls Fast set-up and control.
color-coded to the display

Confidence that you are configured
and testing correctly.

Intuitive, dedicated physical Fast set-up and control using a familiar
controls for common functions interface, with each instrument function

behaving like its standalone counterpart.

Access all capabilities Reduce 90% of the effort associated with
without programming set-up by eliminating the need for a PC,

drivers, and software.

Figure 1. The Agilent N6705A DC Power Analyzer

R&D engineers can invest in
high-performance outputs
where speed and accuracy
are needed, or purchase basic
performance outputs for sim­ple DC power requirements. In
the future, as your test needs
change, you can purchase dif­ferent modules and swap them
into the DC Power Analyzer,
thus creating a solution that
protects your investment and
grows with you.

Each DC Power Module output
is fully isolated and floating
from ground and from each
other.

Each DC Power Module in
the Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer has a fully integrated
voltmeter and ammeter to
measure the actual voltage and
current being sourced out of
the DC output into the DUT.
Because this voltmeter/ammeter
function is built-in, it is easy to
make measurements without
additional wires or the added
complexity of current sense
resistors or current shunts.
The accuracy of the voltage
and current measurements
are based on the type of mod­ule that is installed (Basic,
High-Performance, Precision).
You can find the accuracy
specification in the tables
starting on page 14 under
the performance parameter
“Voltmeter/Ammeter Measure­ment Accuracy”.

4

Voltmeter/Ammeter

Figure 3. In Meter View, all 4 outputs can be

viewed simultaneously. The both measured
values for voltage and current and setting
for voltage and current are displayed for
each output.

Figure 4. In Meter View, you can also view
an enlarged view of one channel, displaying
many settings and measured values, for that
channel. A summary is shown for the other
three channels.

Figure 2. DC Power Modules are easily installed into the
N6705A DC Power Analyzer Mainframe.

Each DC Power Module in
the Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer has a fully integrated
digitizer to capture the actual
voltage versus time and current
versus time being sourced out
of the DC output into the DUT.
This digitized data is displayed
on the large color display just
like an oscilloscope. Because
this oscilloscope function is
built-in, it is possible to make
current measurements without
current sense resistors, current
shunts, or current probes. This
greatly reduces measurement
setup complexity and provides
for accurate and fully specified,
calibrated measurements. The
accuracy of the measurements
in oscilloscope mode is based
on the type of module that is in­stalled (Basic, High-Performance
Autoranging, and Precision).
You can find this information
in the specifications tables
starting on page 15 under
the performance parameter
“Oscilloscope Measurement
Accuracy”.

The N6760 family of Precision
DC Power Modules offer simul­taneous digitizing of output
voltage and output current, such
that you can view a voltage trace

and a current trace at the same
time on the oscilloscope display.
For all other module types,
you can select to view either a
voltage trace or a current trace
on the oscilloscope display.

The digitizer in each module
runs at 50 kHz and captures
4096 samples per trace. With
an effective measurement
bandwidth of 10 kHz, this
oscilloscope function is
perfectly matched to capture
time varying events on the DC
output, such as peak current
demand, dropouts, rise times
and other DC transients and
disturbances.

The oscilloscope can be
triggered on either voltage
or current levels. Because
the Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer is an integrated
instrument, the oscilloscope
can also be easily configured
to trigger on the start of an
arbitrary waveform or to trigger
when the DC power output is
enabled. For example, to make
an inrush current measurement
on your DUT, you can set the
oscilloscope to trigger on the
DC output’s on/off key, set the
trigger mode to single shot, and
then turn on the DC output.
This will immediately capture
the current flowing out of the
DC module into the DUT and
give a picture of the inrush
current of the DUT. This
integrated functionality is
not available when using a
collection of separate test
instruments on the test bench
and is an example of how the
DC Power Analyzer reduces
setup time and complexity.

5

Oscilloscope

Figure 5. In Scope View, voltage and current

traces are displayed. In this picture, the DC
current flowing into the DUT is clearly visible
as a time-varying waveform.

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer can also function as a
datalogger. Using the measure­ment capability built into each
DC Power Module, the N6705A
can continuously log data to the
large color display and to a file.
Data can be logged all four DC
outputs at the same time. The
accuracy of the logged voltage
and current measurements are
based on the type of module
that is installed (Basic, High­Performance, Precision).

There are two modes of
operation:

• In standard mode, measure­ments are made spaced apart
by the sample period, which
is programmable from 75
milliseconds to 60 seconds.
For each DC output, the
logged measurements can be
voltage measurements, current
measurements, or both. Each
reading is an integrated volt­age or current measurement.
Standard mode datalogging is
available on all DC Module
types.

• In continuously sampled
mode, the built-in digitizer
of the DC Power Module
runs continuously at 50,000
readings per second. You
can specify a sample period,
which is the period of time
during which these continuous

readings will be accumulated.
For each sample period, one
average reading (and option­ally, a minimum and maximum
value) will be saved. In this
mode, the digitizer runs
continuously as the readings
are averaged and stored;

therefore, the digitizer is
always making measurements
and no data is missed. The
sample period is programma­ble from 1 millisecond to
60 seconds. In this mode,
the N6760 family of Precision
DC Power Modules offer
simultaneous logging of
output voltage and output
current. For all other module
types, you can select to log
either voltage or a current
when in continuous sampling
mode.

The maximum datalog file size
is 2 gigabytes, which is approx­imately 500 million readings.
The logged data file can be
stored on the N6705A’s internal
non-volatile RAM (limited to
64 MB) or saved externally on
a USB memory device.

The datalogger display can be
saved as a GIF file for use in
reports. The logged data can
be saved for viewing at a later
time. Logged data can also be
exported to a CSV file that can
be read by most common data
analysis software packages.

6

Datalogger

Figure 6. In Datalog View, you can log data

on multiple traces. Here, the current flowing
out of output 1 and output 2 are captured
over 30 seconds

Figure 7. To set up the datalogger, you use
a menu screen to select the operating
parameters. Menu screens like this are used
throughout the DC Power Analyzer for setup

Each DC power output on the
Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer can be modulated by
the module’s built-in arbitrary
waveform generator function.
This permits the DC output
to act as a DC bias transient
generator or power arbitrary
waveform generator. The max­imum bandwidth is based on the
type of module that is installed
(Basic, High-Performance, and
Precision). See page 21 for a
table that lists the bandwidth
for each DC Power Module type.

The Agilent N6705A uses run
length encoding, where each
point in the waveform is defined
by the voltage setting and the
dwell time or duration to stay
at that setting. Waveforms can
be generated by specifying only
a small number of points. For
example, a pulse would only
take three points to define it.

The Agilent N6705A offers the
following waveform choices:

For each waveform, you can
set it to repeat continuously or
you can specify the number of
times the waveform is repeated.
For example, to generate a pulse
train of 10 identical pulses, you
can program the parameters for
one pulse and then specify that
you want it to repeat 10 times.

For the user defined voltage and
current waveforms, you can
download up to 512 set-points

of voltage or current. For each
set-point, a dwell time is speci­fied and output will stay (i.e.,
dwell) at that set-point for the
programmed dwell time value.
For each of the 512 set-points
in the user defined waveform,
you can have a different dwell
time from 0 to 262 seconds with
1 microsecond resolution.* The
module will step thru the user
defined table of values, staying
at each set-point for the pro­grammed dwell time, and then
it will move on to the next
point. User defined waveforms
can be imported from a CSV
file or directly entered from
the front panel of the DC
Power Analyzer.

*Note that the output response
time is less than 5 milliseconds
per voltage change, so steps of
less than 5 milliseconds will
not achieve their final output
voltage value before moving on
to the next step. This is useful
when trying to create a smooth
waveform.

7

Arbitrary Waveform Generator

Waveform Number of points per waveform

Sine 100 points

Step 2 points

Ramp 100 points

Pulse 3 points

Stepped ramp (or staircase) Determined by number of steps you program

Exponential 100 points

User defined voltage waveform Up to 512 points
(where the output is a voltage source)

User defined current waveform Up to 512 points
(where the output is a current source)

Figure 8. The Arb Selection menu is used to
select which pre-programmed waveform will
be applied to the output of the DC Power
Module. Each of the four outputs can have
a different waveform applied.

Figure 9. Once you’ve selected a waveform,
you simply fill in the blanks to describe the
waveform.

Output Sequencing

Each DC power module can
be individually set to turn on
or to turn off with a delay. By
adjusting the delay times and
then commanding the Agilent
N6705A to turn on, you can set
the Agilent N6705A modules
to sequence on in a particular
order. The same sequencing
capability is available to shut
down the modules in a particu­lar order. Delay times can be
set from no delay to one second
of delay in one millisecond
increments.

For applications that require
more than four DC power mod­ules to be sequenced, this out­put sequencing can be extended
across multiple Agilent N6705A
mainframes. By wiring together
the I/O ports on the rear panel
of the mainframes, a pair of
synchronization signals is sent
between mainframes, allowing
the output sequences of each
mainframe to be synchronized.
This capability is also supported

to link Agilent N6705A output
sequences with outputs installed
in N6700B, N6701A and N6702A
Low-Profile Modular Power
System mainframes. It is not
supported on N6700A main­frames.

Programmable Voltage Slew

For some applications, like
inrush limiting or powering
rate-sensitive devices, it is nec­essary to slow down and con­trol the speed of the DC output
to maintain a specific voltage
slew rate. The Agilent N6705A
provides programmable voltage
slew rate, so that you can easily
control the speed at which the
output slews from one voltage
to another. You can set the
speed of a voltage change
anywhere from its maximum
up/down programming speed
to its slowest change of up to
10 seconds.

Series and Parallel Operation

To increase available voltage and
power per output, identically
rated outputs can be operated
directly in series. The maxi­mum series operation is 240 V.
To increase the available cur­rent and power per output,
identically rated outputs can
be operated directly in parallel.
The maximum rated parallel
operation is 80 A per Agilent
N6705A.

Convenient Front Panel Connections

The N6705A uses 3-way binding
posts on the front panel for
connection to the DUT. The

binding posts accept standard
banana plugs, bare wire, and
spade-lug connectors. The
binding posts are rated for 20 A
per connection. To avoid setup
and connection errors, the
binding posts are color-coded to
the control keys and the display.

4-wire Sensing for Improved
Measurement Accuracy

To improve the voltage measure­ment accuracy and regulation
of the DC outputs, the Agilent
N6705A DC Power Analyzer
offers 4-wire sensing capabili­ty, also called remote sensing,
on each of the four outputs of
the DC Power Analyzer. 4-wire
remote sensing is useful when
the DUT draws high current
and you want to account for
voltage drop in the power leads
to achieve tight regulation and
high voltage measurement
accuracy. To use 4-wire sens­ing, in addition to your power
leads, you connect two low
current sensing leads between
the DUT input terminals and
4-wire sense terminal binding
posts located on the front of
the N6705A power supply.
This permits the output mod­ule to monitor and regulate its
output voltage directly at the
DUT input terminals instead
of the N6705A front panel
output binding posts. It then
automatically adjusts its output
voltage to compensate for volt­age drops across the resistance
in the power leads. For conve­nience, switching between
2-wire mode (local sensing)

8

Figure 10. The Output On/Off Delays screen
allows you to enter the delay times for each
output. A graphical representation of the set­tings is shown to visually confirm your choices.

Additional Features

and 4-wire mode (remote
sensing) is done via an internal
relay inside the N6705A DC
Power Analyzer, eliminating
the need for shorting bars or
jumpers commonly found on
other bench power sources.

DC Power Modules Offer Low
Noise Outputs

Careful attention has been
paid to this design to ensure
low normal mode noise (ripple
and peak-peak) as well as low
common mode noise. While all
DC Power Modules are switch­ing power supplies, the N6750
High-Performance Autoranging
DC Power Modules and the
N6760 Precision DC Power
Modules are switching power
supply designs that outperform
most linear power supplies on
the market.

DC Power Modules Provide
Fast Voltage Changes

When it comes to speed, the
N6750 High-Performance Auto­ranging DC Power Modules and
the N6760 Precision DC Power
Modules achieve performance
unlike a typical DC power sup­ply. Thanks to an active down­programming circuit to rapidly
pull down the output when
lowering the module’s output
voltage, the N6750/60 can
rapidly program both up and
down in voltage. Changing volt­age from 0 V to 50 V, or 50 V
to 0 V, can be accomplished in
less than 1.5 milliseconds. And

for smaller voltage changes, for
example from 0 V to 5 V or 5 V
to 0 V, the programming speed
is less than 200 microseconds.
These output speeds allow the
N6750/60 to give maximum
system throughput when your
test calls for frequent changes
in power supply voltage settings.

Autoranging for Flexibility

The N6750 High-Performance
Autoranging DC Power Modules
and the N6760 Precision DC
Power Modules give you even
more flexibility by providing
autoranging outputs. This
autoranging capability provides
maximum output power at any
output voltage up to 50 V. This
allows one power supply to do
the job of several power supplies
because its operating range
covers low voltage, high current
as well as high voltage, low
current operating points. For
example, the N6751A High­Performance, Autoranging DC

Module, rated at 50 V, 5 A, and
50 W can provide full power at
10 V @ 5 A (=50 W),
20 V @ 2.5 A (= 50 W),

33.3 V @ 1.5 A (= 50 W),
50 V @ 1 A (= 50 W)
or anywhere in between. There­fore, this 50 W autoranging power
supply, due to its extended
voltage and current range, can
produce voltage and current
combinations in the range of a
250 W non-autoranging power
supply. See page 27 for a
diagram describing the details
of the autoranging output char­acteristics of the N6750 and
N6760 families of DC Power
Modules.

Use the N6760 DC Power Modules
for Precision Low-level Performance

The N6760 Precision DC Power
Modules provide dual ranges
on both programming and
measurement. In the low range,
these power supplies provide
precision in the milliampere

9

Figure 11. The Agilent N6705A DC Power Analyzer is a perfect size for the bench.

and microampere regions. They
are ideally suited for semicon­ductor and passive device
testing, or where a precisely
controlled output and highly
accurate, precise measurements
are needed during test.

Use the N6730/40/70 DC Power
Modules for Basic DC Bias

Not all testing require high
performance power supplies.
When your budget is tight and
when speed and accuracy are
a low consideration, the N6730
family of 50 W DC Power
Modules, the N6740 family of
100 W DC Power Modules, and
the N6770 family of 300 W
DC Power Modules are an
economical solution that give
you clean, reliable DC power.

Real Time Clock

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer has a built-in battery
backed real time clock. This
allows for proper time-stamping
of logged data. It is also used to
tag files with correct creation
dates.

Internal Memory

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer has 64 megabytes of
non-volatile storage. This storage
is shared between the four
DC outputs. It can be used for
saving test setups, test results,
and screen images. The 64 mega­bytes of internal storage is large
enough to hold up to 30 minutes
of data at a reading rate of
1 millisecond per reading on
all 4 channels simultaneously.
External USB storage is sup­ported for increased storage
capacity to log data longer
(see section “Front Panel USB”).

Front Panel USB

The Agilent N6705A DC Power
Analyzer provides a convenient
front panel USB port designed
exclusively for data storage
devices, such as USB memory
devices or USB hard drives.
On devices connected to this
USB port, you can save test
setups, test results, and screen
images. It is also an easy way
to move test setup files between
two N6705A DC Power Analyzers
or test results between the DC
Power Analyzer and a PC. You
can also log data directly to the
USB device plugged into the
front panel. This extends the
total storage capability of the
N6705A beyond the 64 MB limit
of its internal non-volatile RAM.

Emergency Stop

Should a hazardous situation
occur during testing, you can
press the large red Emergency
Stop button on the front panel
of the Agilent N6705A. Pressing
this easy-to-find button imme­diately removes power from
the DC outputs. However, any
data collection (such as a scope
trace or data log) that is run­ning at the time will continue
to run. By doing so, the data
you were collecting is saved
and you will get a record of
what was happening at the
time of the event that caused
you to press the Emergency
Stop button. The measurements
could aid in failure analysis,
repair, or debugging of the DUT.

DUT Protection Features

Each Agilent N6705A DC Power
Module is protected against
over-voltage, over-current, and
over-temperature. A fault con­dition in one module can be
detected within 10 microseconds
by other modules so that they
can be quickly shut down to
avoid hazardous conditions
on your DUT.

10

Figure 12. The N6705A’s front panel USB port

Figure 13. The Emergency Stop button shuts

down all outputs immediately