Section 3: Functions and features
2606B System SourceMeter® Instrument Reference Manual
3-24
2606B-901-01 Rev. B / May 2018
The following figure is an example of a five-point logarithmic sweep from 1 V to 10 V.
Figure 46: Logarithmic staircase sweep (1V to 10V, five steps)
In this example:
A
= 0,
V
start
= 1,
V
end
= 10,
N
= 5
Using the formula above,
k
= 1
Step size (
b
) for the sweep in the above figure is calculated as follows:
Therefore,
b = 10
(log step size)
= 1.7783
The log steps for this sweep are listed in the table below.
Logarithmic sweep points
Source point (N)
Source level (V)
Step number (i)
1
1
0
2
1.7783
1
3
3.1623
2
4
5.6234
3
5
10
4
When this sweep starts, the output will go to the start level (1 V) and sweep through the symmetrical
log points.
To configure a logarithmic staircase sweep, use the
smu
X
.trigger.source.log
Y
()
function. This
function configures the source values the source-measure unit (SMU) will output when performing a
logarithmic sweep. After configuring the sweep, you must also enable the source action by setting the
following attribute:
smu
X
.trigger.source.action