Section 7: TSP command reference
Series 2600B System SourceMeter® Instrument Reference Manual
7-268
2600BS-901-01 Rev. C / August 2016
smuX.trigger.source.linearY()
This function configures a linear source sweep.
Type
TSP-Link accessible
Affected by
Where saved
Default value
Function
Yes
Usage
smu
X
.trigger.source.linear
Y
(
startValue
,
endValue
,
points
)
X
Source-measure unit (SMU) channel (for example,
smua.trigger.source.linearv(0, 10, 11)
applies to SMU channel A)
Y
SMU source function (
v
= voltage,
i
= current)
startValue
Source value of the first point
endValue
Source value of the last point
points
The number of points used to calculate the step size
Details
This function configures the source action to be a linear source sweep in a subsequent sweep. During
the sweep, the source will generate a uniform series of ascending or descending voltage or current
changes called steps. The number of source steps is one less than the number of sourced
points
.
The
points
parameter does not set the number of steps in a sweep, but rather is used to calculate
source values within a subsequent sweep. If the subsequent sweep has more points than specified in
points
, the source will restart at the beginning. This means that if the trigger count is greater than
the number of points in a sweep as configured, the SMU will satisfy the trigger count by restarting the
sweep values from the beginning.
If the subsequent sweep has fewer points than specified in
points
,
endValue
will not be reached
during the sweep. This means that if the trigger count is less than the number of source values
configured, the SMU will satisfy the trigger count and ignore the remaining source values.
In cases where the first sweep point is a nonzero value, it may be necessary to pre-charge the circuit
so that the sweep will return a stable value for the first measured point without penalizing remaining
points in the sweep.
With linear sweeps it is acceptable to maintain a fixed source resolution over the entire sweep. To
prevent source range changes during the sweep (especially when sweeping through 0.0), set the
source range to a fixed range appropriate for the larger of either
startValue
or
endValue
.
The SMU will only store the most recent configured source action. The last call to
smu
X
.trigger.source.linear
Y
()
,
smu
X
.trigger.source.list
Y
()
, or
smu
X
.trigger.source.log
Y
()
is used for the source action.
Source functions cannot be changed within a sweep.
After configuring the sweep source values, enable the source action by setting
smu
X
.trigger.source.action
.
Example
smua.trigger.source.linearv(0, 10, 11)
Sweeps SMU channel A from 0 V
to 10 V in 1 V steps.