Tektronix 590 Reference manual

Model 590 CV Analyzer

Quick Reference Guide

A GREATER MEASURE OF CONFIDENCE

INTRODUCTION

This quick reference guide contains dascriptions of various
features and information concerning the operation of the
Model 590. Also included are programming examples us­ing various controllers.

01986, Keithley Instruments, Inc.

instrument Division

Document Number: 690-903-01 Rev. A

Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.

1

CONTENTS

Front Panel Operation

Control Group ........................... 4

Trigger Group ............................

Bias Group

Platter Group ........................... 11

Data Group

Miscellaneous Functions, .................. 16

Mathematical Functions ................... 18

Displays. .............................. 19

Connections

Waveform Definitions ..................... 24

IEEE466 Programming ....... , , .. ~, .. ~, ...... 34

Device-Dependent Commands .............. 34

Data Format ........................... 43

SRQ Mask and Status Byte

UO to U26 Status Word Formats ............ 46

Translator ............................. 64

Pmgrams .................................. 67

IBM PC or XT .......................... 68

Apple ,, ............................... 70

HP-ES.. .............................. 72

HP.9616 ............................ 74

HP-9825A

DEC LSI 11 ............................ 76

PET/CBM 2001 ......................... 80

.............................

............................

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...........................

Fotmat

14

20

........... 45

76

4
7

9

2

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

1. Before operation, ground the instrument through a prop­erly earth grounded power receptacle.

2. Before servicing, disconnect the instrument from the
power line and all other equipment, and consult the Model

690 Instruction Manuai.

3. Do not touch any terminals while the instrument i8 turn­ed on or connected to any other test equipment.

For additional safety information, see the
“Safety Precautions” pages in the back
of this manual.

3

FRONT PANEL OPERATION

LOCAL-Pressing this key when the unit is in remote
(REMOTE onl returns the instrument to the local mode

(REMOTE off) and restoros operation of other front panel
controls unless LLO (local lockout) is in effect.

POWER-Controls AC line power to the instrument.

CONTROL GROUP

CONTROL

RANGE

q

0

AUTO

0x10

RANGE-Press RANGE briefly to manually select range.
Pressing and holding RANGE for more than % second places
the unit in autoranging. Press RANGE again to cancel auto
and stay on present range. SHIFT RANGE switches in X10
attenuator to extend lOOkliz measurement range to 20nF
with external optional input adapter (Model 69041.

FREQ-Press FRE‘, to select test frequency, lOOkH2 or

1MHz 8, 15mV RMS. An error message will be displayed
if the appropriate modules are not installed, or if you at­tempt to “se the X10 atten”ato, at IMHz. FREQ is also used
to disconnect the test signal from the test jacks. IThe display

‘will show DISCONNECT.1

MODEL-MOOEL selects series or parallel device model

(series resistance and capacitance or parallel conductance

and capacitance).

2

PS

20 ps

200 ps

2mS

20mS

FILTER-FILTER toggles the single-pole 37 Hz low-pass

analog filter on and off. Note that the filter incroasss instru-

ment response time.

2Mn

??I “kII

2 kn

200 n

2Mfl

200 kll

20 kfl

2 kn

RATE-Press RATE then A/v ior RATEI to scroll through
the rate selection menu: 1, 10. 75, or 1000 readings per
second (or press the numeric key Indicated below). Press
ENTER to select RATE, or QUIT to return to the previous
rate. The slower rates will provide more resolution and
quieter readings, as indicated below.

Nominal

Key # lute

Aesolutlon Readings Filtering

0 1000/set 3 1% * c only
: 75/set 3 K * C.G,V

10/set 4Ya

3

I/%%

4%

C.G.V
C.G,V

DIgItal

NO
NO

YOS

Yes

‘Data displayed only after sweep is finished.
NOTE: Rates are nominal; see instruction manual for actual

rstes.

ZERO-ZERO provides means for supression of B constant
value from the readings, or it can be used to cancel lnter­nal offsets to maximize ~cccuracy. Note that enabling zero
can reduce the dynamic range of the measurement.

CAL-Pressing CAL performs an automatic one point
calibration of the selected module on the current range us­ing an internal 2OpF or 2OOpF Idapending on range)
capacitor and is intended to compensate for shoe-term ther­mal drift. CAL should be used for each range at both fre­quenoies for optimum accuracy of those ranges.

NOTE

Do not press and hold CAL when power is first
turned on, as the instrument will go into its
diagnostic program.

6

TRIGGER GROUP

MANUAL-Pressing MANUAL will initiate a one-shot or
sweep sequence depending on the selected trigger mode.
This key is always operational regardless of the selected
trigger sourca Pressing MANUAL while a reading or sweep
is in progress will result in a trigger owrrun error messega
Dashss in the display indicates that a trigger is required.

MODE-Press MODE then A/T. MODE, or numeric key (see
list below) to select a trigger mode: one shot or sweep, then
press ENTER. In one-shot. the instrument will procss6 one
reading per trigger. while in sweep the unit will process a
complete reading sweep.

SOURCE-Press SHIFT SOURCE then MODE 01 A/V to
scroll through available trigger sources (or press the spy
propriate numeric key in the list below). and then press
ENTER.

Front panel modes and 80wces include:

Numeric Dlaplay

Key # Message

0 TRIGGER MODE

I-SHOT

1 TRIGGER MODE

SWEEP

0

TRIGGER SOURCE FP Front Panel MANUAL

One reading per
trigger
one sweep pw
trigger

button’

1 TRIGGER SOURCE

EXT

TRIGGER SOURCE

2

External trigger pulse
IEEE talk command

TALK

3 TRIGGER SOURCE

IEEE GET command

GET

4 TRIGGER SOURCE X

IEEE X command

“Always enabled regardless of selected source.

8

WAVEFM1M

0

PARAMETER

0

ON-The ON key turns the internal or external bias voltage,
which is applied through the OUTPUT jack, on or off.

WAVEFORM -Selects the type of bias waveform to be pro­grammed. or the external bias 8ourc~. as indicated below.

Use WAVEFORM, A/T, or appropriate numeric key to select

the waveform type, then press ENTER.

3

Available waveforms include:

Numeric Dlsplay

Keyif Messaga DBSCrlpllon

0 DC

Constant DC level in the range of

f20V.

1 STAIR
2 DSTAIR

%&staircase lstsp either up or
Dual staircase lstep up then down

or down then upl.

PULSE

3

Pulse train lconstant level or step
up or down).

4 EXT

Voltage from external source IEIAS
INPUT jsckl.

PARAMETER-Use PARAMETER or A/T to ~elecf para-

meter to be programmed, then key In the value using the
numeric keys. Press ENTER when finished programming all
ptWWllt?t~1S.

Progremmeble paremeters include:
Display

Message

START TIME

STOP TIME
STEP TIME

FIRST BIAS V

LAST BIAS V

STEP BIAS V

DEFAULT BIAS V
COUNT’

Llmlls Resolution

lmssc to 65ssc lmsec
lmsec to 05sec lmssc
lmsec to 65sec lmsec

-20v to +2ov 5mV

-20v to tzov 5mV

-20v to tzov 5mv

-20v to t2ov 5mV

I-450 Il.360 et

1,000/set rate1

10

“Selscts number of readings storsd for external and DC

GRID

bias waveforms.

“‘Voltages may be programmed in ImV 8teps. but are set

in 5mV steps.

NOTE: Multiply programmed times by 1.024 for actual time

interwals.

PLOTTER GROUP

0

SETUP

0

ABORT

I

11

PLOT-Pressing PulT plots the date located in the selscted
buffer IA or SI on a” intelligent plotter over the IEEE-488
bus using the current SETUP paremetsrs. The plotter must
be set tc the eddresssble mode using e primary address
of 6. The controller must be disconnected from the bus for
stand-alone plotting.

GRID-Pressing GRID draws labels, .%~a. end other pera­meters as appropriate for the selected buffer and the SETUP
pem”leters.

SETUP-Pressing SETUP enters the plotter setup menu
which allows selection of the parameters below. Use incre­ment or decrement tc ~crcll through menu selections the”
press the appropriate “umber (belcwl when desired selec­tic” is dlsplayed, then ENTER.

ABORT-Press SHIFT ABORT tc ceeso plotting or grid
generation.

12

DATA GROUP

Increment iAl)-Increment is used to scroll through menu
selections for other front panel operating modes such as
TRIGGER MODE, PLOTTER SETUP, and BIAS WAVEFORM.
Inclement is also used to scroll through buffer locations
when displaying buffer data.

Decrement /II-Liks the increment key, decrement is us­ed to scroll through parameter menus and buffer locations.
but in the opposite direction.

ENTER-ENTER is used as the last step in the menu or
pmamefer selwction process fa actually perform the opera-

tion being programmed.

14

WIT-Pressing WIT when scrolling through a pwameter
menu will rsturn the instrument tc the normal front panel
display and restcres the previouslv programmed mode. CJJIT
also exits the buffer.

BUFFER-Pressing BUFFER allows You tc view the contents
of buffer A or buffer B on the front panel displays. Once

in this mode, select the desired buffer (A or 8) and use in­crement or decrement tc sequentially access various buf­fer Iccations. The BUFFER LED will be on while the unit is
displaying buffer data. Pressing BUFFER while accessing

the buffer displays the last valid buffer location. Pressing

ENTER displays the first valid buffer location gocation #I).
A -B-Places the entire ccntents of buffer A into buffer

8. including capacitance, conductance, and bias voltage
values. Buffer A is the buffer into which A/D readings are

stored. Buffer A will be cleared after the data is transferred.

SHIFT-SHIFT adds a secondary function tc certain other

front panel keYs. including BUFFER. If You press a key which

has no second function after enabling shift, the primary
function of that key will bs performed.

NUMERlC DATA KEYS 10.9, +, -)-These keys are used
to enter numsric data when programming such item8 as bias
parametsrs. If You wish tc restore the previously prc­grammsd values, press the QUIT key instead of ENTER.

Pressing the -

key scrolls the curser to the right.

MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS

To access the following modes, press SHIFT before the key

in question.

CABLE CAL-Pressing this key performs open-circuit cable

correction only at 1MHz. Note that the opposite ends of

the connecting cables must be left open during the ccrrec~

tic” process. Once the correction is complete, you will be

given an opportunity to store the correction scheme for the

particular cable IO-S1 you we using at the update option.
Note that cable correction reduces the dynamic range of

the measurements

CABLE #-Use this key to select which of seven previously
stored cable correction setups obtained above that you wish
to USB IO-8). Once selected, the unit will automatically use

the previously stored cable correction parameters when

making measurements. Note that correction setup #7 turns

off cable correction and installs default values to the front

panel.

SELF TEST-Use this key to perform B self test on many

internal ocmpcnents, including display and the hardware

multiplier.

SAVE-SAVE allows you to save up to seven ccmplsre in-

strument configurations in NVRAM. To use this feature,

simply select the operating configuration and then press
the SAVE button. Key in the position (O-61 that you wish

to save. Note that state 0 is the configuration the unit will

*ssume upon power up.

16

RECALL-Use RECALL to assume machine operating con­figurations that wnre stored with the SAVE key, or the fac­tory configuration. Upon entering this mode, you will be

prompted for a configuration number. Key in the YSIUB (O-7)
and press ENTER. Note that state 7 is a factory default can-

figuration permanently stored in ROM and cannot be altered.

State 0 is the configuration the instrument assume8 upon
power up.

The following modes can be saved and recalled.
Mode

Factory Default

2nF

100kHz’

On
Rate
zero
Trigger Mods
Trigger Source
Bias Source
Waveform

Start, stop. step time
First. last. step, default bias
count

10,sec

Off

SVW3p

Front Panel

Off

DC

1msec

ov

450

“59O/lOOk or 690/100k/lM

IEEE-Press IEEE to verify or program the IEEE-489 primarv
address. Use the number keys to select a primary address
value 03Ol. Press ENTER to program the new address. The
programmed address will go into effect immediately, and
is stored in non-volatile RAM.

MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS

The following calculations are performed on data presently
stored in the data buffers and are not stored in memory.
In order to use these functions, You must select buffer
display with the SUFFER key.

K-Pressing l/C’ inverts the capacitance value in each
data word of the selected buffer and then squares it; the
value for each point will be displayed as you access that
word location.

C/Co-This feature allows you to display normalized capaci-

tance data. The maximum capacitance YSIUB is used for C,.

C...-Pressing c...
value stored in the selected buffer.

C,-Co-This key allows you to subtract each capacitance
value in buffer El from the corresponding values in buffer A.

IV,-V,IC=CONST.-This function rotates the C-V plot axis
by go0 and gives a display of the change in voltage (AVI
as 8 function of constant capacitance.

C vs t-While in C vs t, you can use A/v to scroll through

various buffer locations. The buffer location number will

be shown in the bias voltage display. You can calculate the

time at a specific location for DC and staircase waveforms

as follows:

ts= Itstart + ,tstep + l/RI ,Sll x 1.024

displays the maximum capacitance

18

Where: t9 = time at B specific buffer location

tstert = programmed stert time
tstep = progemmed step time

R = reading rate Ireadings per second)
9 = buffer location number

Use actual reading ret88 as described in instruc­tion manual.

NOTE

DISPLAYS

CAPACITANCE DISPLAY-The normal capacitance display
is e 4% digit +21,999, -19,999 count value with engineer-

ing units in pF or nF. Note that display resolution is 3% digits
et the 76 and 1000 reading per second rates.

CONDUCTANCE DISPLAY-The nominal conductance
display is a 4% digit 13% digits et the 75 end 1000 reeding
per second rates), t21.999. -19,999 count value, with
engineering units else displayed in pS or mS for conduc­tance (parallel model1 or kR or Mll for resistance fseries
model).

BIAS VOLTAGE DISPLAY-The 4% digit bias voltage dis­play indicetes the programmed or actual measured velue
of the internal +2OV bias ~wrce or the applied external

bias voltage (*2OOV). While programming bias parameters.
the display will show the progwnmsd value. When the unit
is displaying readings or stored buffer valufa the display
will show the biss voltage as measured by an internal A/D
converter. This display will also show buffer location in C
vs t. Note that display resolution is 3% digits at the 75 and

1000 reading per second ret%

19

CONNECTIONS

FRONT PANEL

Test INPUT and OUTPUT-Connect the device under test
to ths test INPUT and OUTPUT jacks as shown in Figure

1. Use RG-58 coaxial cable for best results. Cable correc­don should bs used when measuring at 1MHz for optimum
Bccvrac”.

20

REAR PANEL

VOLTAGE BIAS INPUT-This SNC connector is intended to
apply external bias voltage up to -tZOOV DC, 50mA max­imum. Note that the input is internally fused to protect the
instrument from over current conditions.

VOLTAGE BIAS OUTPUT-This BNC output jack provides B
means to monitor the selected bias voltage fextemal or in­ternal) applied to the circuit under test.

CONDUCTANCE ANALOG OUTPUT-This output jack pro­vides B scaled voltage proportional to the conductance
reading. The rsnge of the output is 0.2V, full scale. For 8x­ample, the nominal output value will be IV with a 1011s

reading on the 2OpF12OfiS range.
CAPACITANCE ANALOG OUTPUT-This SNC jack provides

B scaled output voltage that is proportional to the capaci-

tance reading. The output range of the CAPACITANCE out-

put is 0-2V full scale. For example, the nominal outfwt
voltage with B 14OpF reading on the 2OOpF12OOpS range
will be 1.4V.

EXTERNAL TRIGGER INPUT-A SNC jack to be used for ap­plying a trigger pulse to initiate a one-shot or sweep reading.

Pulse specifications are shown in Figure 2.

EXTERNAL TRIGGER OUTPUT-This BNC jack provides 8
pulse when the instrument completes a one-shot reading
or reading sweep, depending on the selected trigger mode.
Output pulse specifications are shown in Figure 3.

22

I

Ffgure 2. ExIernaf Ttlgger Input Pulse Specifioatlons

Flgure 3. External Trigger Output Pulse Speclflcations

23

WAVEFORM DEFINITIONS

Figure 4. DC, One-Shot

24

I

Figure 5. DC, SWWP

25

- 1;

Ffgum 6. Single, Staircase, One-Shot

26

1

9

4