R-driver operation

General information

This setup has to be used if a single, large resistor is used for powering of the device and temperature is measured by one (or more) pn junctions or resistor sensors. This is the typical case of dedicated test chips.

In this operation mode the R-driver booster unit on the right side of the booster will be used. This and only this side has to be connected to the Main System Unit.

The R-driver booster is essentially an electronic switch which applies the voltage of an external power source to the powering resistor of the DUT. Ratings of this switch are 50V and 20A.

Hardware setup

The necessary connections - like in Figure 6-10 - are shown if the Select Configuration window if one the BOOSTER R+D controls is checked

• Set the R-driver switch on the Main System Unit to PC.
• Connect the R-driver output of the Main System Unit (15 pole Canon) and the R-driver connector of the R-driver Booster (15 pole Canon) using the control cable.
• Connect the output of a good quality, floating output 1-50 V dc power supply to the U_EXT plugs of the R-driver booster. Take care of the polarity! The connection has to be realized by thick wires with cross section large enough, in order to avoid undesirable voltage drops even in case of a current of 20A.
  

The R-driver Booster also has a LED labeled "External supply connected", which will be lighted on when the power supply is switched on. At very low voltages the LED does not light. The fan does not operate in R-driver mode.

• Connect the heater resistor between the terminal screws of the R-driver Booster. Ensure good electrical contact. The polarity of the voltage across the resistor is shown on the front plate. In case of integrated resistors proper bias of the isolation layers can be a requirement.
• In case an exact measurement of the powering is required a four-wire connection of the heater resistor is proposed as shown in Figure 7-8 in Chapter 7.5 of the T3Ster Hardware Reference Guide.
• If the sense wires are omitted the R-switch booster measures automatically the voltage of the force pins through two 100 W resistors.
• Use the Sensor currents unit to bias the diode or resistor sensors.
• Use a shielded two-wire cable with DIN connector to connect the two terminals of the diode or resistor sensors to the measurement channels of the Main System Unit.

Figure 6-10: R-driver measurement setup using the booster equipment

Note: In this mode even power levels of 1000W can be switched onto the device under test. Check the UEXT voltage before switching on. Always start from low voltage levels.

Software setup

• Select the BOOSTER R+D A-GND or BOOSTER R+D C-GND item in the Select Configuration window.
• Set the required sensor current in the Set Measuring Parameters window.
• Set the powering mode to in the Set Measuring Parameters window if heating up will be measured, or to if cooling down will be measured. I_E and U_CB settings are of no interest. Programming low or zero I_E and U_CB values results in lower total power consumption of the T3Ster equipment.