Rohde & Schwarz NGU401 Source Measure Unit

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About

The four-quadrant R&S®NGU401 source measure unit provides up to 60 W of output power and sink power. The channels are floating, galvanically isolated and protected against overload and short circuits. With six measurement ranges for current and a resolution of up to 6½ digits when measuring voltage, current and power, the R&S®NGU source measure units are perfect for characterizing devices that work from extremely low-power consumption to high currents in the ampere range. Using ammeters with feedback-amplifier technology increases accuracy and widens the sensitivity down to the nA range. With an acquisition rate of up to 500,000 samples per second, even extremely fast variations in voltage or current can be captured. A special ammeter design is used to precisely measure current drains from nA to A in one pass – no need to make multiple measurement sweeps. The instrument's short recovery times enables it to handle fast load changes that occur, for example, when mobile communications devices switch from sleep mode to transmit mode. With high speed data acquisition, every detail is detected down to 2 μs resolution.

NGU401

Key Features

  • Fast load regulation
  • Minimum residual ripple and low noise
  • Readings with up to 6½ digit resolution
  • Galvanically isolated, floating channels
  • Output stage isolated with relays
  • Voltage priority and current priority mode
  • High-capacitance mode
  • High speed data acquisition (FastLog function)
  • Protection functions to safeguard instrument and DUT
  • Safety limits to safeguard the DUT

 

R&S®NGU401 – the semiconductor testing specialist

  • Four quadrants: source or sink operation with arbitrary polarity
  • Modulation input

 

Easy operation

  • High-resolution touchscreen
  • Color coding of operating modes
  • Graphical display
  • QuickArb function
  • EasyRamp function
  • Save and recall instrument settings

 

Ideal for use in labs and test systems

  • Tailored for use in labs and system racks
  • Remote sensing
  • Front and rear connectors
  • Full remote capabilities
  • Advanced instrument design: compact form factor, quiet operation

 

Additional Information

Important Dates

Enrollment Begin: Apr 13 2021

Enrollment Ends: May 14 2021

RoadTesters Selected: May 27 2021 (estimated)

Product Shipped: May 28 2021

RoadTesting Begins: June 4 2021

Reminder/Update Email: July 5 2021

Submit Reviews By: Aug 5 2021

*The element14 RoadTest Staff will send this reminder/update email.

**If a RoadTester is unable to meet the deadline, please notify the RoadTest Program Lead, , as soon as possible before the deadline.

 

How to locate the official RoadTest review form:  How To Locate the Official RoadTest Review Form (duplicate)

RoadTesters

(deadline due date August 12 2021)

Terms and Conditions

Rohde & Schwarz NGU401 Source Measure Unit – RoadTest

Terms and Conditions

These are the terms and conditions which govern the Rohde & Schwarz NGU401 Source Measure Unit RoadTest contest. This Contest requires participants to submit an application indicating their previous experience with this type of equipment/component, information on what they would do to test the equipment/component, and the applicant’s desire to post a thorough review of their experience with images, photos, or other supplemental materials. Participants will be required to meet the Conditions for Participation.  The winners of this RoadTest will receive the item(s) listed below. RoadTest Reviews are due no later than 60 days after the receipt of the item(s). No other prizes are offered.

The Principal terms of the Competition:

The following words and phrases are used in these terms and conditions and have the meanings given to them below.

 

Key dates:

Applications Close: midnight (GMT) on Apr 13 2021

Announcement of Winner (estimated): May 14 2021

Prize:  Rohde & Schwarz NGU401 Source Measure Unit

Additional Prizes: none

Competition Site: https://www.element14.com/community/groups/roadtest?ICID=menubar_resources_roadtest

Site or element14 Community: www.element14.com/community

Judges: members of the element14 community team chosen at the Organiser’s discretion.

Judging Criteria, All of the following which will have equal weighting:

· Demonstrated competence with the technologies including links or descriptions of past projects

· Qualifications as indicated by current job role and/or schooling/vocational training;

· A thorough description of how the prize would be tested;

· Likelihood that the Applicant will blog about the prize and provide a review on element14.com;

· Originality;

· Innovation.

Organiser: Premier Farnell plc (registered in England and Wales under company number 876412) whose registered office is at Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds, UK

Conditions for Qualification: in addition to meeting the requirements of these terms, all persons applying to take part in the Contest (each one an Applicant) must:

· Provide a RoadTest application describing what he/she would do if awarded the Prize including similar previous projects, product experience and qualifications

Terms: these terms and conditions which govern the Competition and to which the Organiser reserves the right to make changes from time to time and the latest version of these Terms from time to time will be posted to the Site.

  1. Eligibility
  2. Applications:
  3. Selecting Winners:
  4. Liability:
  5. General:

1.1 Save as set out in these Terms, the Contest is open to any natural or legal person, firm or company or group of natural persons or unincorporated body.

1.2 All Applicants must be aged at least 18 at the time of their application.

1.3 Applicants must not enter the RoadTest if doing so or taking part may:

1.3.1 cause the Organiser and/or themselves to be in breach of any agreement (including but not limited to any contract of employment) to which they are a party or in breach of any law, regulation or rule having the force of law to which the Organiser or the Applicant may be subject or any policy of the Organiser or the Sponsor;

1.3.2 Require the Organiser to obtain any licence, authorisation or permission to deal with the Applicant; or

1.3.3 Be in breach of any policy or practice of their employer. Some employers prohibit or restrict their employees from taking part in competitions such as these or receiving prizes under them and the Organiser respects those policies and practices.

The Organiser reserves the right to disqualify any Application made in breach of these Terms and to reject any Application which it reasonably believes may be or become in breach. The Organiser reserves the right to require evidence in such form as the Organiser may reasonably require of any Applicant’s compliance with any of these Terms and to disqualify any Applicant or Participant who cannot provide such evidence reasonably promptly.

1.4 Multiple applications are not permitted.

1.5 Applications may not be submitted by an agent whether acting on behalf of an undisclosed principal or otherwise.

1.6 The Contest is NOT open to:

1.6.1 Any person or entity who is a resident or national of any country which is subject to sanctions, embargoes or national trade restrictions of the United States of America, the European Union or the United Kingdom;

1.6.2 Any employee, director, member, shareholder (as appropriate) or any of their direct families (parents, siblings, spouse, partner, children) (“Direct Families”) of the Organiser and Sponsors; or

2.1 Each Applicant must fully complete and submit a RoadTest Application by the Application Close.

2.2 By submitting a Registration Form, each Applicant:

2.2.1 Authorises the Organiser to use his or her personal data (as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998) for the purposes of running and promoting the RoadTest;

2.2.2 Authorises the Organizer to copy, reproduce and publish their application should they be accepted as a Participant;

2.2.3 Will be deemed to have read, accepted and agree to be bound by these Terms. Applicants are advised to print and keep safe these Terms;

2.2.4 Authorises the Organiser to copy, reproduce and use the Application and/or Review for the purposes of the RoadTest and as otherwise contemplated by these Terms. The Organiser will not be responsible for any inaccuracy, error or omission contained in any reproduction or use of the Project Blogs.

2.2.5 Licenses the Organiser to use the intellectual property in the Project (IP) for the purposes of this Contest. As between the Applicant and the Organiser the IP remains owned by the Applicant.

2.2.6 Grants the Organiser the right to use his or her likeness, photographs, logos, trademarks, audio or video recordings without restriction for the purposes of Contest or the promotion of it or the Site;

2.2.7 Agrees to participate positively in all publicity surrounding the Contest;

2.2.8 Agrees to be responsible for all expenses and costs incurred by him or her in preparing for, entering and participating in the Contest (save for any expenses expressly agreed by the Organiser to be borne by it in these Terms);

2.2.9 Confirms that he or she owns all IP used in his or her application or Project or Blogs and indemnifies the Organiser from any claim by a third party that use of any material provided by an Applicant to the Organiser infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party;

2.2.10 Agrees not to act in any way or fail to act in any way or be associated with any cause or group which would have a negative impact on the reputation of the Organiser and/or the RoadTest.

2.3 All applications submitted to this RoadTest must meet the following criteria:

2.3.1 Applicants must be the author, creator and owner of the proposed review idea. Applicants must not submit someone else’s idea;

2.3.2 The proposed application must be reasonably achievable by the within the time constraints of the Contest;

2.3.3 Applications must not include or propose any of the following, the inclusion of which shall render any proposed application ineligible:

(a) Applications which relate to socially taboo topics, such as illicit drug use or sexual gratification;

(b) Applications that are or could reasonably be considered to be illegal, immoral, discriminatory or offensive as determined by the Organiser;

(c) Applications in relation to them which if accepted would infringe or breach any of the policies or terms of access or use of the Site.

2.4 No Application may contain any of the hazardous substances identified by Article 4 of Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament on the Restrictions on the Use of Substances in Electronic and Electrical Equipment ("the Directive") or the use of such hazardous substances in the in any such Project must not exceed the maximum concentration values set out in the Directive.

3.1 Winners will be selected by the Organiser on the basis of the quality of his or her application and its adherence to these Terms.

3.2 The total number of Winners selected will be at least the minimum number set out above but the actual number is at the sole discretion of the Organizer and/or the Sponsor, if applicable.

3.3 The Organiser will use all reasonable efforts to announce the Winners via an update to the RoadTest page by the date listed above.

3.4 Winners agree to take part in all publicity which the Organiser or the Sponsor wishes to use to promote the RoadTest, the Products featured or other Contests with which the Organiser may be connected from time to time.

3.5 Details of the Winners may also be published in the media.

3.6 Winners are responsible for all applicable taxes, duties or other charges payable in relation to any prize.

3.7

4.1 The Organiser hereby excludes all and any Liability arising out of the Contest or the acceptance, use, quality, condition, suitability or performance of any Prize, even where that Liability may arise from the Organiser’s negligence.

4.2 Nothing in these Terms will affect any Liability of the Organiser for death or personal injury arising from its negligence, for breach of Part II of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (in the event that any entrant is entitled to claim rights under the Consumer Protection Act 1987) or for any matter in relation to which it would be illegal for the Organiser to exclude or to attempt to exclude its Liability.

4.3 Subject to 4.2, neither the Organiser, any parent company nor any subsidiary of the Organiser or such parent company or any of their directors, officers and employees (together referred to in these terms and the ‘Associates’) makes any guarantee, warranty or representation of any kind, express or implied, with respect to this Competition or the Prizes potentially available under it. Neither the Organiser nor any of its Associates shall be responsible for any Liability that may arise out of or in connection with person’s participation in this Competition, the claiming, redemption or value of any prizes under it, the use or enjoyment of such prizes or any events or circumstances arising out of or in connection with any of them. Any implied warranties of condition, merchantability or suitability or fitness for purpose of any of them are hereby expressly excluded. Wherever used in these Terms, ‘Liability’ shall mean any and all costs, expenses, claims, damages, actions, proceedings, demands, losses and other liabilities (including legal fees and costs on a full indemnity basis) arising directly or indirectly out of or in connection with the matter concerned.

5.1 The RoadTest is organised and sponsored by the Organiser. The Organiser reserves the right to delegate all or any of its powers, rights and obligations arising in relation to the RoadTest to any Associate and certain such rights and powers are assumed by the Organiser on behalf of itself and each Associate. Reference to “Organiser” shall be deemed to include reference to each Associate.

5.2 The RoadTest may be terminated at any time if there are, in the sole opinion of the Organiser, an insufficient number of entries, or if the Applications are not of an appropriate standard for a competition of this nature. The Organiser has the right to cancel or suspend the RoadTest at any time due to circumstances outside its reasonable control.

5.3 The Organiser shall have the sole discretion to disqualify (without correspondence or right of appeal) any Applicant it considers to be adversely affecting the process or the operation of the RoadTest or to be in breach of these Terms or to be acting in a disruptive manner or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other Applicant or Participant.

5.4 The Organiser has the right to amend or add to these Terms from time to time. Revised Terms and Conditions will be posted on the Contest Site and it is a condition of entry to the RoadTest that Applicants agree to comply with these Terms and, if appropriate, such Terms as amended from time to time.

5.5 Headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation or construction of these Terms and Conditions.

5.6 These Terms and the operation of the Contest shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and any claim or matter arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Comment List
Anonymous
  • Yes - it can do that too !

     

    Suppose you connect it to a simple 12V DC motor and wind the volts up to 12V, the SMU will supply current and measure it.

    The current will be big and positive at first and will reduce as the motor gets up to speed.

    If you have a big flywheel attached to the motor you have stored a lot of energy in it.

    If you then reduce the SMU output voltage to 6V the motor will act as a generator and drive current back into the SMU which will show a

    negative current for a while until the motor gets down to its 6V spin speed.

     

    The spec is telling you that the SMU can cope (under best conditions) with a load that can put 60W back into the SMU.

     

    Annother example is testing a battery - the SMU can supply power to charge the battery and then sink power to discharge it.

     

    MK

  • Thanks for this detailed explanation, it shows that I did not understand this sentence then:

     

    up to 60 W of output power and sink power

     

    When I read "sink power", I concluded that the unit would be able to "consume" current from outside while measuring it.

  • Thank you   as you answered two points I was going to:

     

    (1) this is effectively the PSU

    (2) you have all the measurements needed on the SMU

     

    A roadtester will need to think/find some decent loads that maybe have complex responses to the power supply dropping. Think of a cordless power tool....leave it a while and the battery recovers slightly, enough that on the next switch on runs well for the first few seconds. OK - not an overly complex example but you get the idea. Now if that cordless device had a MCU in it how might that behave as the power fluctuates, brown out etc....could the SMU be used to demonstrate that such that a manufacturer of said cordless appliances could see value in buying one?

  • You don't need a source to us an SMU  - it is a source.

     

    So, for example suppose you want to test an LED,

    You can programme the source to be set the voltage across the LED or the current through it, while you measure the current or voltage that results.

    You might want to be sure that you can get the required current over a wide temperature range - or whatever.

     

    If you were testing a battery powered device you can programme the SMU to behave like a battery, with a source impedance and decay over time as charge is removed.

     

    You could programme it to charge a battery and then discharge it - with different profiles to see how that affects the battery capacity.

     

    Different SMUs come with different programming tools and pre-built test programmes.

     

    One of the nice things about this one is that it can sample quite fast (500k samples per second) which would make it good for looking at supply current to a battery powered device.

     

    To do a good review you would ideally want a meter and a scope. Unless you have somne seriously good gear (like 7.5 digit DMM in calibration) you aren't going to be able to

    check the accuracy of the the SMU - but no one expects that from a Road Test.

     

    It's worth thinking about and having  a punt if you have the time - the Road Tests are about the only way most people can get their hands on fancy gear purely to satisfy

    their curiosity without any economic justification.

     

    MK

  • Yeah. I have LEDs, I'm not sure, but maybe I could power a dev board with it? Arduinos with 5V, 9V? A FPGA with 12V?

     

    Source side I don't even have a PSU yet, so the only thing I can use... power adapters like 5V, 9V, 12V DC.

  • Yes, you are right that a novice point of a view is always nice to have on any given product, but as Hugo mentioned, I don't think I even have the required gear to make good use of it. I mean, on the load side, I have regular LEDs, a few ESP32 with RF modules, tiny light bulbs or toy motors. And on the source side, I have wall blocks, and a bench top lab supply.

    But I don't have any monitoring device, just a portable multimeter that is not even calibrated.

     

    I believe it is better if I focus my attention to the roadtests where I can really give an honest review, even if I'm not as experienced as Gough Lui for instance.

  • That is a fair point, but a less experienced person may not have the equipment to test either.

     

    I haven't even heard of a Source measure unit before, and I'm still reading to determine what it is, and if I am correct it's a PSU + ultra precise multimeter all in one.

     

    I don't think my current meter can even handle 60W.

  • Don't forget when you see a roadtest like this it may be that the sponsor (R&S in this case) appreciate a completely different test i.e. from someone who doesn't understand the unit and therefore their testing reveals facets of the equipment others don't address. Plus you'd learn so much about Source Measure Units in doing so image

  • Yes, exactly the same here, it looks like a power supply at first, but it's definitely much more than that.
    And clearly, my limited knowledge wouldn't do it any justice by testing it, so I'll leave it up to someone else.

  • It's quite a nice box but up against stiff competition  from Keithley and Keysight.

     

    I've been looking at source meters recently because I want to measure current and voltage in (special) LEDs and capacitors using pulses down to

    5us with a time resolution of 100ns. (Part of the need is to estimate change in chip temperature in the LED during the pulse, the other area of interest

    is trying to understand why multi layer ceramic capacitors don't behave like capacitors when you draw current from them for pulsing LEDs.)

    Nothing on the market comes close - best is the Keithley offering with built in "pulser" which can do 10us pulses and 1MHz sampling but the pulse

    section is a different current driver in the same box (base price £10,900)

     

    The R&S boxes look to be good for battery related stuff (simulation of and testing), best pulse time is 100us.

     

    The point of this ramble is to cheer up those who don't get to test the R&S box with the thought that it won't do everything and for specific tasks you

    can outperform it or it's competitors for a much smaller outlay in parts cost (although that will cost a shed load of time image).

     

    MK