Keithley Instruments Introduces Dual- and Triple-Channel Programmable Power Supplies 

By DE Editors

Keithley Instruments, Inc. has announced the addition of two multi-channel power supplies to the company’s Series 2200 line of programmable DC power supplies. According to the company, both combine greater output accuracy than competitors at prices that are lower, as well as features that enhance ease of use in circuit design, university student labs, materials research, and device testing that requires the use of more than one power source.

The new supplies’ output levels are designed to address a range of sourcing requirements for characterizing components, circuits, modules, and complete devices. The Model 2230-30-1 supply provides two output channels, typically used for powering analog circuits, with each channel capable of outputting up to 30V/1.5A/45W, plus a 6V/5A/30W output channel, typically used for powering digital circuits. The Model 2220-30-1 supply provides two output channels, each capable of outputting up to 30V/1.5A/45W. These maximum output levels, combined with voltage setting and reading resolution of 1mV and current setting and reading resolution of 1mA, allow generation of a wide range of output power and reading a range of load currents with high precision, according to Keithley Instruments.

The company says Series 2200 has a basic voltage setting accuracy and voltage readback accuracy of 0.03% for each output channel. Rear-panel remote sense terminals on each channel of the Series 2200 supplies compensate for voltage drops in the power supply. They also offer 0.1% basic current setting and readback accuracy, and less than 3mVp ‘p ripple and noise, according to the company.

Keithley says each output channel is completely isolated, which allows the new supplies to power two isolated circuits with different reference points, eliminating the need for a second supply.

For applications that require supplying more than 30V or 1.5A, the new supplies’ 30V outputs can be combined in a variety of configurations, such as being wired in series to produce a 60V output with a maximum current output of 1.5A or wired in parallel to produce a 3A output at 30V. When configured this way, special display modes show the actual voltage and current for the combined pair. The new Keithley supplies also allow configuring the 30V outputs to test a bipolar circuit or maintain a user-defined ratio between the two outputs when using Tracking mode.

Several features help protect fragile or experimental DUTs from damage during testing, according to the company, including programmable voltage maximum values that prevent the accidental entry of a channel’s voltage above the pre-set value. These settings are in addition to the current limit setting function, which controls the level of current that can flow into the DUT, and each output channel’s limit can be set independently. In addition, all front panel controls can be locked using a user-definable password to prevent inadvertent changes during critical tests.

The new multi-channel power supplies are designed to perform as effectively in automated test systems as they do in manual configurations. A USB TMC-compliant device port makes it easy to control each remotely from a variety of programming environments, according to the company. For example, Tektronix Edition LabVIEW SignalExpress from National Instruments provides all the tools needed for basic instrument control, data logging, and analysis. This programming environment, which supports a range of Tektronix bench instruments, can be used to automate the entire test bench or test system by providing access to the features of multiple instruments from one intuitive software interface.

Other features of the new supplies include:

• Instrumentsettings can be saved to one of 30 internal memory locations.
• Arotary knob with adjustable step size can help simplify studying a DUT’sresponse to voltage or current changes.
• Anumeric keypad offers an alternative method of entering values.
• Voltageand current outputs for all channels are shown simultaneously on the vacuumfluorescent display.
• StandardIVI-Com and LabVIEW instrument drivers.
 

The US list prices of the new power supplies are $950 for the Model 2220-30-1 Dual-Channel DC Power Supply and $1,150 for the Model 2230-30-1 Triple-Channel DC Power Supply

For more information, visit Keithley Instruments.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.