Model 6517B Electrometer User's Manual
Section 4: Basic measurements
6517B-900-01 Rev. B August 2022
4-23
Basic charge measurement procedure
After measuring high voltage in the voltage function, it may take a few minutes for input current to
drop to within specified limits. Input current can be verified by placing the protection cap on the
INPUT triaxial connector and then connecting a jumper between COMMON and chassis ground.
With the instrument on the 20 pA range and zero check disabled, allow the reading to settle until the
input bias current is within specifications.
Do not apply more than 250 V
PEAK
(dc to 60 Hz) to the input. Applying voltages above
250 V
PEAK
can damage the 6517B.
The 6517B has an autodischarge feature for the charge function. When enabled, autodischarge
resets the charge reading to zero when the charge reading reaches the specified level. After the
integrator resets, the charge measurement process restarts at zero.
To make charge measurements:
1. Press the
Z-CHK
key to enable zero check (
ZeroCheck
displayed).
2. Select the
Q
key to select the charge function.
3. Press the
CONFIG
key.
4. Press the
Q
key.
5. Select
AUTO-DISCHARGE
. Press the
ENTER
key.
6. Select:
OFF
: Disable autodischarge. You can use zero check to reset the integrator.
ON
: Enable autodischarge. You are prompted to enter the discharge level. The charge
reading resets every time the specified charge level is reached.
7. Press the
ENTER
key.
8. Press the
EXIT
key to return to the measurement display.
9. Press the
AUTO
key to select autorange. You can also use the RANGE keys to select a manual
range.
10. Connect the test cable to the 6517B.
11. Press the
Z-CHK
key to disable zero check.
12. Press the
REL
key to set the relative offset (zero the instrument).
13. Connect the circuit to the INPUT of the 6517B as shown in the following figure.
14. Make the charge reading from the display.
