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Physical Location 

Normally, place your Reference 600+ on a flat workbench surface. Keep easy access to the rear of the 
instrument because some cable connections are made from the rear. The Reference 600+ is generally 
operated in an upright position (see Figure 4-1). Operation in other positions is possible as long as you 
ensure that air movement through the chassis is not restricted. 

 

If you place your Reference 600+ within an enclosed space, make sure that the internal temperature 
within that space does not exceed the 45°C ambient temperature limit of the Reference 600+. Be 
particularly careful if a computer or other heat-dissipating equipment is mounted in the same enclosure as 
the Reference 600+.   

The Reference 600+ is not designed for outdoor use. 

Computer Requirements 

Before you connect a Reference 600+ to a computer you must make sure that your computer meets these 
simple requirements.  

 

A computer based on one of the x86 or x64 families of

Intel

 microprocessors, or a 100%-compatible 

processor from another vendor,  

 

Microsoft

®

 Windows

®

 7 or newer is 

required with Gamry Framework™ software version 7. Framework 

version 6 is compatible with Windows

®

 XP and newer. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of these 

operating systems are supported. 

 

A USB port that supports Full Speed (12 Mbits/second) or High Speed (480 Mbits/second) USB 
transfers. It must be compatible with Revision 1.1 or Revision 2.0 of the USB specification. 

 

Warning:

 

The “reinforced insulation” that keeps he operator from accessing the 

“hazardous live” voltages in the 

Reference 600+ can be rendered ineffective if the Reference 600+ is 

damaged in shipment. Do not operate damaged apparatus until a qualified service technician has verified 
its safety. Tag a damaged Reference 600+ to indicate that it could be a safety hazard. 

If the Reference 600+ is taken from a cold location (for example outdoors in winter conditions) to a warm, 
humid location, water vapor may condense on the cold surfaces inside the Reference 600+, possibly 
creating a hazardous condition. 

The “reinforced insulation” that keeps the operator from accessing the 

“hazardous live” voltages in the 

Reference 600+ can be rendered ineffective if the Reference 600+ has 

condensed water inside its case. 

Before connecting power to a “cold” 

Reference 600+, allow at least one 

hour for the Reference 600+ to warm at room temperature. 

 

Caution:

 Do not block the airflow into or out of the Reference 600+ chassis. While the 

circuitry should suffer no damage due to excessive heat, the Reference 600+ enclosure may become 
uncomfortably hot to the touch if no air flows through the chassis. Running the Reference 600+ without 
adequate cooling could shorten the time to failure of some of the circuitry. 

Summary of Contents for Reference 600+

Page 1: ...Reference 600 Potentiostat Galvanostat ZRA Operator s Manual Copyright 2018 Gamry Instruments Inc Revision 6 2 January 9 2018 988 00006...

Page 2: ...2...

Page 3: ...r use of a system containing a Reference 600 please try to call from a telephone next to your computer where you can type and read the screen while talking to us We will be happy to provide a reasonab...

Page 4: ...system at any time without incurring any obligation to install same on systems previously purchased All system specifications are subject to change without notice There are no warranties which extend...

Page 5: ...rors that might appear Copyrights Reference 600 Potentiostat Galvanostat ZRA Operator s Manual copyright 2007 2018 Gamry Instruments Inc all rights reserved Gamry Framework copyright 1989 2018 Gamry I...

Page 6: ...4...

Page 7: ...ter 4 Installation 19 Initial Visual Inspection 19 Physical Location 20 Computer Requirements 20 Quick start Guide for System Installation 21 Software Installation 21 Reboot your Computer after Softwa...

Page 8: ...surement System Model and Physical Limitations 57 Hints for System and Cell Design 61 Floating Operation 63 Appendix A Reference 600 Specifications 65 Appendix B Reference 600 Cell Cable Connector 71...

Page 9: ...tandard mentioned above Reinforced insulation again defined in EN 61010 is used to reduce the risk of electrical shock due to this hazardous live voltage The majority of the Reference 600 s circuitry...

Page 10: ...on of the Reference 600 chassis to an earth ground may lower the noise seen in an electrochemical test A Chassis Ground binding post on the rear panel of the Reference 600 makes for easy implementatio...

Page 11: ...600 The Reference 600 contains spark gap surge suppressors that limit the voltage difference between the Reference 600 s chassis ground and earth ground to about 90 V These surge suppressors are not...

Page 12: ...ns on the storage shipping and operation of this equipment The Reference 600 has not been designed for outdoor use Storage Ambient Temperature 40 C to 75 C Relative Humidity Maximum 90 non condensing...

Page 13: ...ptibility in laboratory test equipment The Reference 600 is not rated for continuous use when subject to ESD events It should suffer no permanent damage when subject to the standard ESD events defined...

Page 14: ...tus to RF energy and transient events and mandating safety requirements Gamry Instruments Inc has designed and tested the Reference 600 to comply with these standards The relevant CE regulations inclu...

Page 15: ...ation concerning PSTAT objects and their functions About the Reference 600 The Reference 600 Potentiostat is a research grade electrochemical instrument packaged in a small easy to handle case It offe...

Page 16: ...ems are autoclaves large metal storage tanks stress apparatus and capillary electrophoresis detectors Notational Conventions In order to make this manual more readable we have adopted some notational...

Page 17: ...ow the basic principles of the Reference 600 without the confusion of the full circuitry details The complexity of the Reference 600 can be quite daunting the Reference 600 circuit boards contain more...

Page 18: ...12 Figure 3 1 Reference 600 Potentiostat Board in Potentiostat Mode Simplified Schematic Block Diagram...

Page 19: ...ue components switched into the circuit They are not continuously variable as implied in the figure The monitor BNC connectors for Isig and Esig are lightly filtered using an RLC circuit The programma...

Page 20: ...ion components are not shown The DDS can generate fixed amplitude sine waves with frequencies between 5 MHz and 1 mHz In practice Gamry s EIS software uses the Scan DAC to generate sine signals if fre...

Page 21: ...e This ensures that all waveform and data acquisition timing is tightly controlled and reproducible point to point By default the data acquisition is synchronized with the 300 kHz power supply switchi...

Page 22: ...iltered operation Software switches allow it to be configured for high input impedance and to allow input filtering The thermocouple input is a connection of a K type thermocouple The type of thermoco...

Page 23: ...ument Manager Time critical sections of the Power PC code are kept in the processor s fast cache memory The term UART refers to a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter It converts parallel data...

Page 24: ...oise on the data Additional circuitry that is not shown protects the Reference 600 against ESD electrostatic discharge and electrical surges Note that the Reference 600 is also protected against damag...

Page 25: ...ing a Microsoft Windows compatible computer These instructions also assume use with Gamry s Framework Software Revision 7 0 or higher Figure 4 1 Front View of a Reference 600 Initial Visual Inspection...

Page 26: ...rt that supports Full Speed 12 Mbits second or High Speed 480 Mbits second USB transfers It must be compatible with Revision 1 1 or Revision 2 0 of the USB specification Warning The reinforced insulat...

Page 27: ...g EXE file Running this file extracts the software and begins the same installation process as you get with a physical medium If you have inserted the Gamry DVD or flash drive into your computer and t...

Page 28: ...Connection The Reference 600 does not plug directly in the AC mains supply Instead the mains are connected to an external power supply which supplies a regulated 24 V DC output This regulated DC is th...

Page 29: ...the Reference 600 powers up This LED should go on for a second or so flash three times then remain on The status of the other LED indicators is not important at this time Each flash of the Power LED u...

Page 30: ...n Gamry Instruments application software is running Cell Cable Installation The Cell Cable connector is a 25 pin female D type connector on the front of the Reference 600 All of Gamry s standard cell...

Page 31: ...installed on the Windows desktop You can connect and power any Gamry potentiostats either before or after you start the Framework Framework Device Status Bar By default the Gamry Framework shows a De...

Page 32: ...Instrument Manager You can use Gamry s Instrument Manager GIM application to make changes to the configuration of your Reference 600 system Find the application through the Options menu in the Gamry...

Page 33: ...ts of a drop down Package menu and the Authorization Code field 3 Choose the package to which you will be upgrading in the Package menu and then enter the corresponding ten digit Authorization Code Ga...

Page 34: ...is active This tool automatically selects the compatible firmwares and installs them Gamry Instruments recommends that you use this button To use this tool take the following steps Caution Do not powe...

Page 35: ...you to change individual firmwares instrument PLD Comm Blink Button Clicking the Blink button causes the Power LED on the selected instrument to blink five times This may help you identify the specifi...

Page 36: ...s in the instrument s Customization Label area In a system containing eight potentiostats the potentiostats might be labeled Pstat 1 Pstat 2 Pstat 3 Pstat 8 Insert simple paper labels in an area behin...

Page 37: ...ng by hand on a blank label do it now 2 Use scissors to cut out the new label Cut white labels on the black lines 3 Unscrew the four Philips head screws on the front bezel and remove the instrument s...

Page 38: ...ll tab of paper extends beyond the instrument s front panel 7 Examine the new label s position in the Front Panel Adjust the label if needed 8 Replace the black bezel Reattach the four screws to fix t...

Page 39: ...Gamry Support button in GIM One of our support engineers will review the results and provide appropriate advice You run the Instrument Manager by selecting Options Instrument Manager on the Framework...

Page 40: ...ith a 200 Calibration Cell which includes a 200 0 05 accurate resistor After calibration please place this Calibration Cell in a safe place where you can find it if your unit requires recalibration If...

Page 41: ...able 1 Connect the Chassis Ground on the back of your potentiostat to a known good earth ground Caution The Reference 600 cable calibration calls for an external resistive dummy cell Your Reference 60...

Page 42: ...g ground lead of your cell cable to the Shield s grounding post Note that the photograph below left is of a 200 cell so is only a general representation of the procedure 4 Open Gamry Framework softwar...

Page 43: ...rence 600 calibration is performed with the cell leads connected to a 2 k resistor During the calibration procedure DC current range offsets are recorded with the cell switch turned off A DC current m...

Page 44: ...ime needed to measure an EIS spectrum Most corrosion experiments or macro electrode measurements involve currents much too large to be affected by this difference The Gamry Framework includes a specia...

Page 45: ...lack Pin Jack Floating Ground Leave open or connect to a Faraday shield Connect both the blue and green cell leads to the working electrode The working electrode is the specimen being tested The blue...

Page 46: ...A Mode Cell Connections The Reference 600 can function as a precision Zero Resistance Ammeter ZRA As a ZRA it maintains two metal samples at the same potential and measures the current flow between th...

Page 47: ...ctrode in your cell we recommend that you connect the white reference lead to the working electrode In theory the measured potential is exactly zero when this is done In practice A D noise and offset...

Page 48: ...42 Reference electrode 1 and counter electrode 1 must be on one side of the membrane and reference electrode 2 and counter electrode 2 must be on the other side...

Page 49: ...ut cell connections There is a pin out diagram of the cell cable connector in Appendix B The Power LED The Power LED is on the lower left of the Reference 600 front panel It normally glows a steady bl...

Page 50: ...D flashes orange whenever the Reference 600 is receiving or transmitting valid USB messages to or from the host computer It does not flash if there is USB traffic addressed to other devices on the USB...

Page 51: ...condition is known as an E Overload The control amplifier has lost control of the cell The absolute value of the cell current may be trying to exceed 600 mA or the absolute value of the counter electr...

Page 52: ...our Reference 600 to supply DC power to the instrument This supply is rated for operation from 100 to 240 V AC at frequencies from 47 to 63 Hz It should therefore be useable worldwide While a Referenc...

Page 53: ...eference 600 You may find it useful when making this earth ground connection USB Port The USB port on the rear panel of the Reference 600 is a Type B connector as defined in Revision 1 1 and 2 0 of th...

Page 54: ...from a variety of vendors Make sure you get the proper type thermocouple as shown on the rear of your Reference 600 The Reference 600 uses a temperature measurement IC to convert the thermocouple outp...

Page 55: ...ition clock Four digital outputs can be used to turn on external devices under control of an Explain experimental control script Some of Gamry applications assign three of the digital outputs to contr...

Page 56: ...utput of the Reference 600 s differential electrometer circuit With the exception of the filtering described below it is a buffered representation of the voltage difference between the white and blue...

Page 57: ...rsus reference electrode voltage The polarity of the Ext Sig In signal is inverted at the signal generator s output As described above a negative input signal on this BNC creates a positive change in...

Page 58: ...A D The scaling is 3 V input equals 30 000 A D counts This is a resolution of 100 V per bit Results are reported in volts The input is differential see Appendix D The allowed input voltage range is 24...

Page 59: ...may exhibit ringing whenever there is a voltage step applied to the cell The Reference 600 s D A converters routinely apply steps even when making a pseudo linear ramp While this ringing is not a pro...

Page 60: ...54 Figure 7 1 Fast Combination Reference Electrode SCE Platinum White Cell Lead 100 pF to 10 nF Electrolyte...

Page 61: ...r value is generally determined by trial and error One nF 1000 pF is a good starting point In a sense this is another form of an AC coupled low impedance reference electrode The counter electrode is t...

Page 62: ...ghest current expected in the test being run For example if you expect your highest current to be around 1 mA you can add a 1 k resistor This resistor has no effect on the DC accuracy of the potentios...

Page 63: ...implied by very sensitive current measurements consider the equivalent circuit shown in Figure 8 1 We are attempting to measure the cell impedance given by Zcell This model is valid for analysis purp...

Page 64: ...istance Johnson Noise in Zcell Johnson noise across a resistor represents a fundamental physical limitation Resistors regardless of composition demonstrate a minimum noise for both current and voltage...

Page 65: ...his frequency However large Rm values are desirable to minimize the effects of voltage drift and voltage noise in the I E converter s amplifiers A reasonable value for Cin in a practical computer cont...

Page 66: ...given by Z 1 j C At 60 Hz the impedance magnitude is about 66 Apply an ideal DC potential across this ideal capacitor and you get no DC current Unfortunately all potentiostats have noise in the appli...

Page 67: ...reduces both current noise picked up directly on the working electrode and voltage noise picked up by the reference electrode A Faraday shield is a conductive enclosure that surrounds the cell The sh...

Page 68: ...re run alongside each other If you wish to avoid excessive capacitance Place the leads as far apart as possible Pay special attention to physical separation between the working electrode working sense...

Page 69: ...aratus connected directly to any of the cell leads Ammeters and voltmeters regardless of their specifications almost always create problems when connected to the Reference 600 cell leads Floating Oper...

Page 70: ...64...

Page 71: ...ifier Compliance Voltage Min 22 V Note 1 Output Current Min 600 mA Note 2 Unity Gain Bandwidth Typ 980 260 40 4 0 0 4 kHz Notes 3 4 Slew Rate Typ 10 4 5 0 6 0 06 0 006 V s Notes 3 4 Differential Elect...

Page 72: ...nge 60 pA Max 0 2 0 75 1 5 of reading Note 13 Zero drift Typ 0 03 FS C Note 14 Bandwidth 600 mA to 600 A ranges 60 A range 6 A range Typ 10 1 5 0 15 MHz Note 15 Current Measurement Resolution Typ 0 00...

Page 73: ...0 V Auxiliary A D Input see Appendix D Range differential Typ 3 V Input voltage range either input Max 3 6 V Gain Error Max 0 2 Input Impedance a as shipped b re jumpered for high Z input Typ 100 10...

Page 74: ...ages greater than 9 5 V They are only a high impedance buffer from 12 V to 9 5 V though they are a unity gain buffer over their whole input voltage range 6 The input current of the JFET inputs on the...

Page 75: ...terms in the equation above can have drift 16 The current to voltage converter bandwidth is a function of the current range the cell cable and the IEStability setting The bandwidth can be very low on...

Page 76: ...Reference 600 Specifications 70...

Page 77: ...ectrode cable 6 Counter Sense With a Reference 600 used to sense the potential of the counter electrode Allows accurate ZRA mode even with significant cell current through counter lead s resistance 8...

Page 78: ...ivial task Gamry Instruments does not recommend user designed cables except as a last resort In many cases we can build a custom cable to meet your specific needs We ll also be happy to discuss your c...

Page 79: ...w The auxiliary output ground connection ground 3 Sync In Used in slave mode starts data acquisition 2 2 k input impedance 4 Sync Out A TTL pulse output before the start of a data point 330 output imp...

Page 80: ...Misc I O Connector 74...

Page 81: ...cations Range 3 276 V Input Impedance 100 k approx Low Impedance Selected or 10 G typical High Impedance Selected Input Bias Current 10 nA High Impedance selected Filter Cutoff 20 Hz 20 With Low Bandw...

Page 82: ...Appendix D Auxiliary A D Input Characteristics 76...

Page 83: ...t number R0295 000 from Ergonomics Inc for safety analysis and report number RSI 2772L from Radiation Sciences Inc for EMC test and analysis EMC Standards Title Class Criteria EN 61000 4 2 EMC Electro...

Page 84: ...Appendix E CE Certificate 78...

Page 85: ...Appendix E CE Certificate 79 Certificate of Conformance...

Page 86: ...61 63 EasyUSB 17 EIS speed 63 electrical noise 61 electrical transients 7 electrons per second 57 enclosed space 6 environmental limits 6 environmental stress 6 Ext Sig In BNC 51 External Signal 51 fa...

Page 87: ...matic 11 service 7 service contract 1 Sig Gen Out BNC 51 small signals 57 software calibration 65 specifications 65 stability 53 state machine 15 static electricity 7 storage 6 support 1 telephone ass...

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