Section 4: Operation
Series 2600B System SourceMeter® instrument User's Manual
4-16
2600BS-900-01 Rev. A / August 2021
Guarding and shielding
You can optimize source-measure performance and safety with the effective use of guarding and
shielding (noise and safety shields).
Safety shield
A safety shield must be used whenever hazardous voltages (>30 V
RMS
, 42 V
PEAK
) will be
present in the test circuit. To prevent electrical shock that could cause injury or death, never
use the 2600B in a test circuit that may contain hazardous voltages without a properly
installed and configured safety shield.
The safety shield can be metallic or nonconductive and must completely surround the device under
test (DUT) test circuit. A metal safety shield must be connected to a known protective earth (safety
ground). See
(on page 4-24) for important safety information on the use of a metal or a
nonconductive enclosure.
Safety shielding and hazardous voltages
For the 2601B, 2602B, and 2604B, the maximum output voltage for a channel is 40 V, which is
considered a nonhazardous level. However, using two 2601B, 2602B, or 2604B voltage sources in a
(on page 4-26) can cause test circuit voltage to exceed 42 V.
For example, the source-measure units (SMUs) of two 2601B, 2602B, or 2604B instruments can be
connected in series to apply 80 V to a device under tes
t (DUT) (see the following figure). See “TSP
advanced features” in the
Series 2600B Reference Manual
for information on using multiple System
SourceMeter
®
instruments.
Use #18 AWG wire or larger for connections to safety earth ground and chassis.
