Company Blog

Frequency Response Measurement with Chirps and Leakage-Free FFT

28.10.2016

Good Chirp Setup

This post explains how to measure the frequency response of a component or system with high spectral resolution in a minimum amount of time. Rather than sweeping the frequency and recording each spectral point individually, the approach presented here is based on a fast and continuous change of the frequency...

Better Amplitude Accuracy with the MFLI Analog Adder

07.03.2016

HF Output Add

Many lock-in applications use a drive signal consisting of a small AC excitation voltage and larger DC offset voltage, for example differential conductance (dI/dV) measurements. Users of the MFLI Lock-in Amplifier have the choice between two methods to generate such a signal: using the analog adder ("Add"), or using digital...

Using Digital Lines as Trigger Sources

03.02.2016

Save Demod Data on Trigger High

Starting from the LabOne 15.11 release, accessible from our Download Center , all HF2LI users with the enabled HF2LI-WEB option can now benefit from the latest software developments that were previously reserved for the UHFLI. One tool that is now totally new for this instrument is the Software (SW) Trigger...

LabOne Software Trigger as a Tool for Multichannel Mapping Applications

25.11.2015

First 7 harmonics

In earlier blog posts, I presented several methods to synchronize data acquisition with third party instruments, either via the DIO input as a h ardware trigger (TTL pulse), some gated triggering scheme for pass/fail analysis or to capture only transient phenomena in a longer data stream ( ring-down method example)...

Eddy Current Testing with the MFLI Lock-in Amplifier

05.08.2015

Eddy current

This blog post describes a method to detect material defects. Eddy current measurements are used for non-destructive material testing (NDT). An alternating magnetic field is penetrating a sample. The material defect is detected by a phase shift. Experimental Setup

Optimizing PLL Performance with PID Advisor and Auto Tune

27.07.2015

Loop block diagram

LabOne provides two tools that save time and improve performance for anybody working with the UHF-PID option: the PID Advisor and the Auto Tune feature. They enable automation of the feedback parameter tuning required to achieve the best PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller performance. In this blog post, we'll show you an example that demonstrates the power of both of these tools...

Achieving High Data Transfer Rates with the UHFLI

07.07.2015

Scope Streaming Schematic

The UHFLI Lock-in Amplifier features the smallest time constant on the market, making it an excellent instrument for fast measurements like in imaging applications. The UHFLI can provide demodulated data at a bandwidth of up to 5.2 MHz and sampled at up to 14 MSa/s...

Characterization of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Impedance at Low Frequencies with the HF2IS Impedance Spectroscope

03.07.2015

Setup

The electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique is used to characterize the physical-chemical processes of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) using different types of metal oxides semiconductors, dyes or electrolytes [1]. The EIS technique can be applied to obtain the DSSC frequency response over a wide frequency range from mHz up to MHz...

SPM User Meeting in Leiden

17.06.2015

Dan's Tutorial

On June 3rd my colleague Romain Stomp and I welcomed Zurich Instruments' users with a focus in scanning probe microscopy (SPM) to visit us for the day at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In the morning, Romain shared his expertise with a presentation outlining how to optimally configure the HF2...

Pass/Fail Tests for Failure Analysis

08.06.2015

Pass/Fail Graph

For quality control in manufacturing process, there are many ways to tests for transistors or other component failure, but for high throughput verification usually simple Pass/Fail tests are required. Since devices are tested for various functions, different tests need to be performed in this pass or fail mode. The basic...

Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy with the HF2LI Lock-in Amplifier

23.05.2015

DLTS vs Temperature

A very small concentration of lattice point defects, or simply defects, such as vacancies, impurities, dislocations, grain boundaries or cavities, are responsible for creating many different properties in semiconductors. Defects play a crucial (beneficial or detrimental) role in determining the suitability in terms of performance and reliability of a specific material to be used in a semiconductor device...

Measuring the I-V Characteristic of PN Junction Devices with the HF2LI

13.05.2015

I-V Setup

Co-author and main contributor: Dr. Antonio Braga Introduction The p-n junction is the fundamental building block of semiconductor material electronics device such as transistors, diodes, sensors, laser, light emitting diodes, as well as solar cells. If one wants to know the fundamental functional properties of these devices, it is crucial...

DFRT-PFM Workshop

27.11.2014

Earlier in November 2014, Zurich Instruments participated in a 2-day workshop on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) organized by the Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL) and the CNRS network RéMiSoL (Réseau des Microscopies à Sondes Locales). Starting with some theoretical introduction by Prof Brice Gautier, 2 parallel sessions on practical...

Demodulating Down to DC with the HF2LI

18.11.2014

DC Demod

Many of our customers use the possibility to measure DC voltage and current, together with an ac signal by setting the demodulation frequency ω=0. The measured value is seemingly incorrect as you need to divide the obtained rms value with the factor of √2 to get the actual signal amplitude...

Using Vertical Axis Groups to Plot Signals of Different Scales or Units

13.10.2014

Add Axis Group

LabOne ® offers a flexible display of multiple signal waves within the same plot. This blog post describes the functionality of the vertical axis groups, which make it possible to finely control how signals are bound together within the plot. Vertical axis groups are available in the Plotter tab, SW...