Keithley Adds Free Graphing Toolkit to Series 3700 System Switch/Multimeter Firmware

This “early look” capability makes it easy for users to gauge the progress of long-duration tests quickly, and then to take quick corrective action if measurement results are not as anticipated. There’s no need to write code in Keithley’s TSP® script language, LabVIEW®, or Visual Basic® programming environments and then to extract data from an instrument’s reading buffer into a third-party analysis package or a spreadsheet package such as Microsoft Excel to create graphs. Series 3700 mainframes support high speed, multi-channel measurements. The addition of the graphing toolkit capability allows users to observe the data acquired either in numerical form or in graphical form on their choice of up to 40 channels simultaneously. The acquired data can be viewed in either real-time mode or in user-defined increments. This simplifies comparing and contrasting readings on a per-channel basis, to allow identifying potential problems quickly. For example, this capability would be useful in applications such as burn-in testing, which could involve monitoring multiple temperature, voltage, and resistance measurements, then looking for trends in the measurements over the course of the test.

Engineers involved in characterizing devices in research and development applications should find this new graphing toolkit capability particularly helpful. It eliminates the time-consuming and often confusing process of pulling data from reading buffers and analyzing it with an external package. In this way, this new capability speeds and simplifies mainframe and test system set-up time, channel, and signal interaction and remote channel monitoring vs. time applications.

This new capability leverages the Series 3700’s compatibility with the LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) standard by expanding upon the built-in instrument control Web page included on many LXI instruments. There is no need to install new software on a PC or on the Series 3700 mainframe – the capability is included in the mainframe’s firmware and can be accessed via any standard Web browser, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and others. The toolkit builds upon the Web-based instrument controls already included in Series 3700 mainframes for controlling and monitoring the switching cards installed in the mainframe and the optional built-in digital multimeter. The graphical user interface also provides access to a special version of Keithley’s Test Script Builder application for writing test scripts to create unique testing functions. Series 3700 mainframes offer scalable, high-performance switching and multi-channel measurements that are optimized for automated testing of electronic products and components. Keithley's next-generation Series 3700 System Switch/DMM satisfies the demands of medium to high channel count applications, with its ability to control up to 576 multiplexer channels in an industry-leading six-slot, 2U form factor, saving precious rack space and lowering the cost of test. A high-performance integrated DMM option, the Model 3706, provides fast, low-noise, enhanced sensitivity measurements with resolutions up to 7½ digits and speeds to 15,000 rdgs/sec at a price lower than typical 6½-digit DMMs.

Series 3700 System Switch/Multimeter instruments include a variety of capabilities optimized for high speed testing, including LXI Class B compliance with IEEE 1588 time synchronization. Other capabilities that enhance testing speed include Keithley's embedded Test Script Processor (TSP®) technology, which brings PC-like functionality into the instrument, and TSP‑Link®, a master/slave communication bus that simplifies system expansion. TSP-Link provides for seamless integration with Series 2600A System SourceMeter® instruments, for adding high speed I-V source and measurement capabilities.