IntroductionThe Hardware InterfaceThe Software InterfaceMicrosoft ExcelUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEYCollege of EngineeringDepartment of Ele ctrical Engine ering and Computer SciencesEE105 Lab ExperimentsHP 4145B/4155A/4155C Parameter Analyzer TutorialContents1 Introduction 12 The Hardware Interface 13 The Software Interface 14 Microsoft Excel 41 IntroductionThe HP 4145B/415 5A/4155C is a parameter analyzer. It can be used to apply test signals (voltages orcurrents) to one or more nodes of a circuit, then measure the voltages and currents at other nodes in thecircuit. What makes the parameter analyzer particularly useful is that it can sweep a test voltage acrosshundreds of values in a matter of seconds. You can think of its capabilities like those of a DC analysis inSPICE.2 The Hardware InterfaceThe hardware interfa c e to the HP 4145B/4155A/4155C is a metallic box (called a test fixture) lo c ated atevery lab station. Inside the test fixture, you’ll notice a socket, many numbered slots, and eight labeledterminals: 4 SMU, 2 VS, and 2 VM (newer models have more terminals , but all models have at least theseeight). The SMU is the most flexible terminal: it can be used to apply or measure a cur rent or a voltage.The VS can act only as a voltage source, and the VM can act only as a voltmeter. For any measurementyou’re conducting having fewer than five nodes, you should use the SMU terminals for all of the nodes sincethey provide the most functionality. Figure 1 shows the old test fixture and Figure 2 shows the new testfixture. SMU terminals are labeled with red, VS with blue, VM with black, and ground with green. Notethat the HP 16147 test fixture has two numbering schemes for the SMU terminals—us e the the numberingscheme with black numbers on a white background (as labe le d in Figure 2).When using the HP 4145B/4155A/4155C, you can either connect a pin to the ground terminal in thetest fixture or you can connect it to an SMU or VS and set the SMU/VS to supply 0V. According to the testfixture documentation, the ground terminals a re just connected to the chassis of the tes t fixture, so usingthe ground terminal can mean a noisy ground. For best results (in particular with small signals or sensitivecircuitry), you should use an SMU or VS for ground.In order to actually hook up a circuit to the HP 4145B/4155A/4155C, you’ll need special cables providedby your TA. T hese are extremely expensive ($70 a piece!), so be careful not to break or lose them. Buildyour circuit on the breadboard provided in lab, then use the special cables to connect nodes in your circuitto SMU, VS, and VM terminals depending on the functionality you need at each node.13 THE SOFTWARE INTERFACE 2Figure 1: HP 1605 8 test fixtureFigure 2: HP 1614 7 test fixture3 The Software InterfaceBefore using the software interface, you must turn on the HP 4145B/4155A/4155C. There is a power buttonin the lower left hand corner (it may take 20-30 seconds for the machine to start). The software to interfacewith the HP 4145B/4 155A/4155C is only installed on half of the computers in the lab, since there are twocomputers per lab station but only one set of lab equipment. Generally, the computer located closer to theHP 4145B/4155A/4155C (the one to the left of the machine) is the computer with the software. Computers3 THE SOFTWARE INTERFACE 3that have the software installed are labeled “Metrics Installed” as well.1. Start ICS Metrics. Click Start → Programs → Metrics → ICS. Yo u may get an error, but just clickOK to ignore it.2. Click Instruments → Select Inst rument... (or the icon in Figure 3). You should see a list of “Available”instruments on the left side of the window. Select the instrument that is installed at your lab station(select HP4145 for the HP 4145 and HP4155-6 for the HP 4155 A/4155C). Click Connect and the deviceshould b e listed under “Selected”. Click OK to exit this window.Figure 3: Icon for selecting an instrument3. Click Measure → Edit Setup... (or the icon in Figure 4) to open the Setup Editor. Click New to createa new setup and give it a name (any name is fine).Figure 4: Icon for setting up a measurement(a) You should now see a schematic of a MOSFET with blue squares at each terminal. Click Deviceto pick a different device. Note that the device shown is onl y to help you connectterminals. It does not change anything other than the number of terminals available .After selecting the device, click OK. If you picke d a different dev ice, the schematic will changeand the number of terminals will change.(b) Now you must assign an SMU, VM, or VS to each of the terminals in the diagram. This interfaceallows you to specify how the circuit is connected to the hardware interface. Click Source Units.A new window will come up with all of the SMU, VM, and VS terminals of the hardware interfaceavailable for you to select. Click the source unit you want to assign, then click on one of theterminals to assign that source unit to that terminal. The schematic will change to show youwhich SMU, VS, or VM you’ve assigned to which terminal.(c) You c an now assign stimuli and measurements to the terminals that you’ve labeled. For eachterminal, click on the icon next to the label and a new window will come up s howing all of theavailable measurement and stimulus options. For the VS and VM terminals, you’ll only be ableto apply or measure a voltage, respectively. For SMU terminals, you can cho ose to have eithera voltage of curr ent stimulus in the upper left hand corner . You can choose to mea sure voltageor current in the upper middle of the window. Finally, you can select the actual values for thestimulus in the middle portion of the window. (Note: If you want to measure the voltage at aterminal without applying a signal, you can apply a current stimulus of amplitude zero, whichwon’t change your circuit.)(d) There are four primary ways you can set a stimulus (current or voltage). The first is just a constantvalue. You won’t be using this much, since constant measurements are easy to do with a DC powersupply and multimeter and don’t require something as complex as the HP 4145B/4155A/4155C.You can also set a node to common, which is ground (this is exactly equivalent to setting it to aconstant value of 0V). You’ll always have one ground node in your circuit. Finally, the interestingoptions are stepping and sweeping values.• Stepping a value causes a measurement to oc c ur at every
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