Velleman DCA75 User Manual

GB75-1

Peak Atlas DCA Pro

Advanced Semiconductor Component Analyser

with Graphics Display and PC connectivity

Model DCA75

Designed and manufactured with pride in the UK

User Guide

Peak Electronic Design Limited 2012

In the interests of development, information in this guide is subject to change without notice - E&OE

Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Want to use it now?

We understand that you want to use your Atlas DCA Pro right now.

The unit is ready to go and you should have little need to refer to this

user guide, but please make sure that you do at least take a look at the

notices on page 5.

Contents Page

Introduction....................................................................................4

Important Considerations...............................................................5

Analysing semiconductors - Standalone mode...............................6

Diodes......................................................................................8

Zener Diodes............................................................................9

Diode Networks .....................................................................10

LEDs......................................................................................11

Bicolour LEDs (2-lead types) ................................................12

Bicolour LEDs (3-lead types) ................................................13

Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs).......................................14

Darlington Transistors ...........................................................18

Enhancement Mode MOSFETs .............................................21

Depletion Mode MOSFETs ...................................................22

Enhancement Mode IGBTs....................................................23

Depletion Mode IGBTs..........................................................24

Junction FETs (JFETs) ..........................................................25

Thyristors (SCRs) and Triacs.................................................27

Voltage Regulators ................................................................28

Contents continued on next page…

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Contents (continued) Page

PC Software Installation............................................................29

Connecting to your PC for the first time ......................................30

Analysing Semiconductors – PC mode ........................................31

PC mode - Curve Tracing functions.......................................32

PC mode - Exporting your data..............................................33

PC mode - Special functions..................................................34

Audible Settings...........................................................................35

Care of your Atlas DCA Pro........................................................36

Self Test Procedure ......................................................................37

Appendix A - Troubleshooting ....................................................38

Appendix B - Technical Specifications........................................39

Appendix C - Analysis test circuits..............................................41

Transistor test circuit .............................................................41

JFET/MOSFET/IGBT test circuit..........................................42

Diode test circuit....................................................................43

Voltage regulator test circuit..................................................44

Appendix D - Warranty Information............................................45

Appendix E - Disposal information .............................................46

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Introduction

The Peak Atlas DCA Pro is an advanced semiconductor analyser that combines simplicity, ease of use and a range of advanced features. You can use your DCA Pro on its own or in combination with a laptop or desktop PC.

Summary Features:

• Automatic component type identification and schematic display

 Bipolar transistors  Darlington transistors  Enhancement Mode and Depletion Mode MOSFETs  Enhancement Mode and Depletion Mode IGBTs  Junction FETs  Low power sensitive Triacs and Thyristors  Light Emitting Diodes  Bicolour LEDs  Diodes and Diode networks  Zener diodes  Voltage regulators

• Automatic pinout identification, just connect any way round.

• Special feature identification such as free-wheeling diodes and

resistor shunts.

• Gain measurement for bipolar transistors.

• Leakage current measurement for bipolar transistors.

• Silicon and Germanium detection for bipolar transistors.

• Gate threshold measurement for Enhancement Mode MOSFETs.

• Semiconductor forward voltage measurement for diodes, LEDs and

transistor Base-Emitter junctions.

• Zener voltage measurement.

• PC connectivity providing:

 Larger component identification display.  Detailed characteristics measurement.  Curve tracing functions.

• Automatic and manual power-off.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Important Considerations

Please observe the following guidelines:

•

This instrument must NEVER be connected to powered equipment/components or equipment/components with any stored energy (e.g. charged capacitors). Failure to comply with this warning may result in personal injury, damage to the equipment under test, damage to your DCA Pro and invalidation of the manufacturer’s warranty.

•

The DCA Pro is designed to analyse semiconductors that are not in-circuit, otherwise complex circuit effects will result in erroneous measurements.

•

Avoid rough treatment, hard knocks and extreme temperatures.

•

This unit is not waterproof.

•

Only use a good quality AAA Alkaline battery.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Analysing Components – Standalone Mode

The DCA Pro is designed to analyse discrete, unconnected, unpowered components. This ensures that external connections don’t influence the measured parameters. The three test probes can be connected to the component any way round. If the component has only two terminals, then any pair of the three test probes can be used.

The DCA Pro will start component analysis when the on-test button is pressed.

For the first analysis (after the unit has been switched off) the tests are

performed while displaying the Peak

logo.

Testing...

Depending on the component type, analysis may take a few seconds to complete, after which, the results of the analysis are displayed.

Information is displayed a “page” at a time, each page can be smoothly scrolled by briefly pressing the scroll-off button.

For subsequent testing when the unit

is already powered-up, the unit displays the “Testing…” screen.

Although the DCA Pro will switch itself off if left unattended, you can manually switch the unit off by holding down the scroll-off button for a couple of seconds.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

If the DCA Pro cannot detect any component between any of the test probes, the following message will be displayed:

No component detected.

If the component is not a supported component type, a faulty component or a component that is being tested incircuit, the analysis may result in the

Unknown/faulty component.

following message being displayed:

Some components may be faulty due to a shorted junction between a pair of the probes. If this is the case, the following message (or similar) will be displayed:

If all three probes are shorted (or very low resistance) then the following message will be displayed:

It is possible that the DCA Pro may detect one or more diode junctions or other component type within an unknown or faulty part. This is because many semiconductors comprise of PN (diode) junctions. Please refer to the section on diodes and diode networks for more information.

Red & Blue leads shorted.

Red, Green & Blue leads shorted.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

=0.694V at 5.00mA

Diodes

The DCA Pro will analyse almost any type of diode. Any pair of the three test clips can be connected to the diode, any way round. If the unit detects a single diode, a message similar to the following will be displayed:

Diode junction Green-K Blue-A V

additionally, the Red test clip is unconnected.

The forward voltage drop is also displayed; this gives an indication of the diode technology. In this example, it is likely that the diode is a standard silicon diode. A germanium or Schottky diode may yield a forward voltage of about 0.25V. The current at which the diode was tested is also displayed. The DCA Pro typically tests diodes (PN junctions) at a forward current of 5mA.

Note that the DCA Pro will detect only one diode even if two diodes are connected in series when the third test clip is not connected to the junction between the diodes. The forward voltage drop displayed

In this example, the Cathode (symbol of K) is connected to the Green test clip

and the Anode (symbol of A) is

connected to the Blue test clip,

however will be the voltage across the whole series combination.

The DCA Pro will determine that the diode(s) under test is an LED if the measured forward voltage drop exceeds 1.50V. Please refer to the section on LED analysis for more information.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Zener diode

=5.094V at 5.00mA

=0.702V at 5.00mA

Zener Diodes

The DCA Pro supports Zener diodes (and Avalanche diodes). Additionally, the instrument can measure the Zener voltage*.

Connect any pair of the 3 test leads to the Zener diode.

Following analysis, the component

Red-K Blue-A V

details are displayed.

In this example, a Zener diode with a reverse voltage (Zener voltage) of nearly 5.1V has been detected.

Additionally, the forward biased

voltage characteristic is measured, 0.702V at 5mA for this example.

The DCA Pro attempts to test the Zener diode with a current of nominally 5mA. For Zener diodes with a Zener voltage of more than about 9V, a lower test current will be used. This is illustrated in the following graph:

*The DCA Pro may not be able to identify Zener diodes with a Zener voltage of more than 11V. It will however still identify the diode junction in its forward biased mode.

Test Current (mA)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Zener Voltage (Volts)

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

2 diode junctions

#1: Diode junction

Blue

Diode Networks

The DCA Pro will identify multiple diode junctions between the probes. For three terminal devices such as SOT-23 diode networks, all three test clips must be connected.

The instrument will show the results for each diode junction in turn.

Firstly, the unit will show that it has found a number of diode junctions:

The details for the first diode are then displayed (Diode #1). In this example, the Green test clip is on the Cathode of diode #1 and the Blue test clip is on the

#1: Diode junction Green-K Blue-A

Green-K Blue-A VF=0.699V at 5.00mA

Anode.

The details for the second diode are then displayed (by briefly pressing scroll-off):

#2: Diode junction Red-A Blue-K VF=0.683V at 5.00mA

It can be seen in the above example, that the blue test clip is connected to both the anode on Diode #1 and to the cathode of Diode #2. This means that the two diodes are effectively connected in series, with the blue clip at the mid point. This example is illustrated below:

Green Red

In the same way as the single diode analysis, the forward voltage for each diode is measured for a nominal test current of 5mA.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

LED

=1.962V at 5.00mA

LEDs

An LED (light emitting diode) is really just another type of diode, however, the DCA Pro will determine that an LED or LED network has been detected if the diode’s measured forward voltage drop is larger than 1.5V. This also enables the DCA Pro to intelligently identify bicolour LEDs, both two-lead and three-lead varieties. See the section on bicolour LEDs for more information.

For two leaded parts, connect any pair of the 3 test clips to your LED. Leave the 3rd lead unconnected.

In this example, the Red test clip is connected to the LED’s Cathode

Red-K Blue-A V

(negative) and the Blue test clip is connected to the Anode (positive).

The forward voltage of the LED is measured at a nominal current of 5mA.

During the analysis process, the LED will briefly illuminate (so you

can see it’s illumination colour). The test current of 5mA means that it may not be as bright as you expect, LEDs are often used at currents of 10-20mA. Power LEDs are sometimes driven at 350mA or more.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Bicolour LED (2 lead)

Bicolour LEDs (2-lead types)

Bicolour LEDs are generally available in two main varieties; 2-lead and 3-lead types.

This section describes the testing of 2-lead bicolour LEDs. These types are internally connected in inverse parallel (back-to-back).

Similar to the diode network analysis, each LED within the

bicolour LED is detailed in turn.

This example shows that LED #1 has its Cathode connected to the Red test clip and its Anode connected to the Blue test clip. The forward bias characteristic is shown for LED#1,

1.823V at 5mA in this example.

#1: LED Red-K Blue-A

#1: LED Red-K Blue-A VF=1.823V at 5.00mA

Pressing scroll-off then shows the details for the 2nd LED in the bicolour LED package.

#2: LED Red-A Blue-K VF=1.944V at 5.00mA

As expected for 2-lead bicolour LEDs, we can see in this example that LED#2 has its connections in exactly the opposite configuration to LED#1.

Note that it is common for the two LEDs within a bicolour LED to

have different forward voltage characteristics. Red is often the lowest forward voltage, progressing through amber, yellow, green and then blue (or white) with the highest forward voltage. See the table at the bottom of the next page.

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Bicolour LED (3 lead)

Bicolour LEDs (3-lead types)

3-lead bicolour LEDs are available in common cathode and common anode varieties. The DCA Pro supports both types.

In the same way as the 2-lead bicolour LED analysis, each internal LED is detailed separately on the DCA Pro screen.

The type of bicolour LED is shown here, in this example we have a

Common Cathode

common cathode variety.

#1: LED

The details for each internal LED are then shown.

#1: LED Red-A Green-K VF=1.935V at 5.00mA

It can be seen here that our example has its common cathode terminal connected to the Green test clip.

#2: LED Green-K Blue-A VF=1.877V at 5.00mA

Typical values of forward voltage for LED colours are shown here: (LED types/manufacturers may vary significantly)

LED Colour Typical VF @ 5mA

Red 1.81V Amber 1.86V Yellow 1.90V Green (standard type) 1.95V Green (deep green / emerald) 2.84V Blue (and white) 2.95V

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Atlas DCA Pro User Guide December 2012 – Rev 1

Leak=0.000mA

Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs)

Bipolar Junction Transistors are simply “conventional” transistors, although variants of these do exist such as Darlingtons, devices with free-wheeling diodes, resistor shunted types and combinations of these types. All of these variations are automatically identified by the DCA Pro and their schematic symbol display on the screen. Both NPN and PNP types are supported.

The 3 test clips can be applied to the transistor in any configuration.

As an example, testing a common PNP transistor such as the 2N5401 will result in a display similar to this:

This example shows that the Red test clip is connected to the Emitter, the Green is connected to the Base and the Blue test clip is connected to the Collector.

Pressing scroll-off allows further

PNP Silicon BJT Red-E Green-B Blue-C HFE=106

HFE=106 at IC=5.00mA VBE=0.754V

VBE=0.754V

details to be displayed.

at IB=5.00mA I

The DC current gain (HFE), base emitter

voltage drop (VBE) and collector leakage current (ICLeak) are all shown along with their test conditions.

Refer to the following sections for more details on these measurements.

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