2606B System SourceMeter® Instrument Reference Manual
Section 2: General operation
2606B-901-01 Rev. B / May 2018
2-71
Displayed error and status messages
During operation and programming, virtual front-panel messages may be briefly displayed. Typical
messages are either status or error notifications (refer to the
(on page 8-2) for a
complete list of these messages and their meanings).
Status and error messages are held in a queue. For information about retrieving messages from
queues, refer to
(on page
). For information about error messages, refer to the
(on page
Range
The selected measurement range affects the accuracy of the measurements and the maximum signal
that can be measured. If the range is changed, the virtual front-panel display may contain dashes
instead of a reading (for example, --.---- mA). This indicates that no measurement was made using
the range that is presently selected. To update the displayed reading, trigger a measurement (if in
local control, press the TRIG key).
Refer to the specifications for available ranges.
Maximum source values and readings
The full-scale output for each voltage and current source range is 101 percent of the selected range,
but the full-scale measurement is 102 percent of the range. For example, ±1.01 A is the full-scale
source value for the 1 A range, and ±102 mA is the full-scale reading for the 100 mA measurement
range. Input levels that exceed the maximum levels cause the overflow message to be displayed.
Note, however, that the instrument will autorange at 100 percent of the range.
Measure auto delay
The measure delay is a specific delay that is applied before each measurement is made. This delay is
disabled by default (measurements are made immediately). You can change the default delay by
setting the
(on page 7-196) attribute either to a specific value or to an auto
delay setting (set
smu
X
.measure.delay = smu
X
.DELAY_AUTO
). If the measure delay is set to the
auto delay setting, a range-dependent delay is applied each time the instrument performs a current
measurement. This delay also happens for the measurement that is taken after changing current
ranges during an autoranged measurement.
You can increase or decrease the auto delay by changing the delay factor (for example, to reduce the
delay across all ranges by half, set
smu
X
.measure.delayfactor = 0.5
). For additional
information, refer to
(on page 7-197).
