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Agilent 34410A/34411A

/2 Digit High-Performance

Multimeters

Application Note

Contents

Introduction 1

Features and Performance 2

Applications and Solutions 4

Understanding Fast Measurements 13

The Advantages of a 18

Built-In Web Server

Conclusion 19

Glossary 19

Introduction

The Agilent 34410A and 34411A

are the latest generation of

2 digit multimeters from

Agilent Technologies. The 34410A

and 34411A are general-purpose

DMMs that give excellent price/

performance in a wide range of

applications. Each DMM builds

upon the success of the industry-

standard Agilent 34401A,

and each offers significantly

enhanced functionality for

bench and system users.

Whether your application is

in electronic components,

aerospace, communications,

automotive, industrial, or one

of the many other industries

that require DC and AC mea-

surements, you will find that

the 34410A and 34411A DMMs

offer you the performance

you need and are easy to use.

This application note gives you a

detailed look at how you can use

the features and performance

of these new DMMs in a variety

of applications to overcome

measurement challenges.

Key features:

Agilent 34410A 6

/2 digit

high-performance DMM

•

10,000 readings/s at 5

digits

•

1,000 readings/s at 6

digits

• 30 PPM 1-year basic DC

accuracy

• LAN, USB and GPIB standard

• DCV, ACV, DCI, ACI,

2/4-wire ohms

• Frequency, period, continuity,

and diode test

• Capacitance and temperature

measurements

• Wide measurement ranges

• Data logger with 50-k reading

non-volatile memory

Agilent 34411A 6

/2 digit

enhanced-performance DMM

All the features of the

34410A, plus:

•

50,000 readings/s at 4

/2 digits

• 1-million-reading memory

• Analog level triggering

• Programmable pre/post

triggering

Summary of content (20 pages)

PAGE 1
Agilent 34410A/34411A 6 1/2 Digit High-Performance Multimeters Application Note Contents Introduction 1 Features and Performance 2 Applications and Solutions 4 Understanding Fast Measurements 13 The Advantages of a Built-In Web Server 18 Conclusion 19 Glossary 19 Introduction The Agilent 34410A and 34411A are the latest generation of 6 1/2 digit multimeters from Agilent Technologies.
PAGE 2
The 34410A and 34411A are backward compatible with the Agilent 34401A multimeter and support a 34401A emulation mode. You will find a detailed comparison of the 34401A with the new 34410A/ 34411A DMMs in Application Note 5989-4038EN, “Replacing the Agilent 34401A with the New Agilent 34410A and 34411A High-Performance Digital Multimeters.
PAGE 3
• Hardware handshake to switch instruments • Precision sample timer for waveform capture • Peak measurements while measuring DC or AC signals • 100-Mbit LAN, USB 2.0, and GPIB • Web server for remote access • LXI Class C compliant • 34401A emulation mode • Drivers for IVI and LabVIEWTM Key features for system use Remove the rubber bumpers and handle, and you have a system-ready DMM that can outperform even VXI and PXI instrumentation.
PAGE 4
Applications and Solutions Whether your application requires general-purpose measurements, precision DC and AC measurements, waveform capture of mechanicalelectrical signals, or fast throughput and programming speed, these new DMMs have the measurement capability you need. This section gives you examples that demonstrate some of the newer capabilities not found in many generalpurpose DMMs. The next section, “Understanding Fast Measurements,” will show you how to configure your DMM for these measurements.
PAGE 5
capacitance of the DMM and lead capacitance of the probes can be calibrated out using the built-in math null function, which subtracts the initial measurement from all subsequent measurements. Substantial improvements in accuracy are attained using this technique. The 34410A and 34411A DMMs can actually perform much better than their 0.5% specifications. In lab testing on a high-accuracy capacitance standard, these DMMs achieved a performance level on the order of 0.1%.
PAGE 6
Precision DCV measurements combined with peak measurements Power supplies often have ripple voltages that are riding on top of the desired DC output. These ripple voltages are specified and tested to be a certain level or less. Frequencies of the AC signal are often power-line related, but they can be associated with higher-frequency byproducts of switching power supplies. For example, Figure 1 shows a DC signal with an AC component.
PAGE 7
In manufacturing, the goal is to minimize test time, so the combination of precision DCV and peak measurements can significantly reduce test time compared to making individual DCV and ACV measurements or digitizing and processing the signal. The additional benefit is obtaining the peak-to-peak information which can better indicate the quality of the power supply’s output signal.
PAGE 8
Testing fluorescent ballasts using direct-sampled ACV When a fluorescent lamp is off, the mercury/gas mixture within the tube is non-conductive. When power is first applied, 300 VAC is needed to initiate a gas discharge of mercury radiation. The electric current passing through the low-pressure gas emits UV light. The internal phosphor coating efficiently converts most of the U V to visible light.
PAGE 9
Level triggering with scopelike waveform capture Aerospace and automotive applications are replete with mechanical-electrical signals. There are mechanical parts that oscillate, vibrate, and experience tension or compression. The frequency content of these signals is relatively low, often less than 8 kHz. For example, a typical accelerometer will have a bandwidth of 2.5 kHz. The 34411A provides waveform capture for these types of signals using the following capabilities: • 50-kHz sample rate at 4.
PAGE 10
The 34411A level trigger is specified in units of any measurement function. In this case, a DCV measurement is being made at 50 k samples/s. With 1 million readings, 20 seconds of data can be stored at this rate. Pre- and post-triggering allows you to create a scopelike capture of the waveform around an event. The DMM will continuously make measurements until the level trigger is met. It will retain the pre-trigger count of measurements and then begin the count of post-trigger measurements.
PAGE 11
External or Level Trigger Trigger Delay = 2 seconds Figure 6. Using an external trigger and a delay to synchronize sampling Borrowing from the earlier battery discharging example, an external trigger or level trigger (34411A only) can begin the process of making any measurement or waveform capture. Simultaneous measurements with multiple DMMs In automotive and aerospace applications with mechanicalelectrical components, it is common to make simultaneous measurements of multiple sensors.
PAGE 12
External DMM connected to switch The fastest and most convenient way to scan through a list of channels is to hardware-couple the DMM directly to a switch instrument, like the Agilent 34980A switch/measure unit. Once you start a scan, the switch and DMM communicate without any intervention from the PC. This is much faster than trying to sequence channels using software commands.
PAGE 13
RMS Noise (ppm of range) and 34411A have industryleading performance in measurement speed versus RMS noise. The chart in Figure 9 shows the entire measurement speed spectrum of both DMMs, from 0.001 NPLC (50 k readings/s) to 100 NPLC. Understanding Fast Measurements Some of the examples in the previous section require programming the DMM to its fastest measurement settings and using the trigger subsystem.
PAGE 14
How to set up the DMM for fast DC measurements There are a five key factors that control measurement speed for DC measurements: • Autozero • Autorange • Aperture • Automatic trigger delay • Peak measurements When you use autozero, autorange, and peak measurements, you engage an internal software state machine to control operations inside the DMM. This state machine is limited to about 2000 readings/s, best case.
PAGE 15
The aperture setting is set to MIN. For the 34410A, this would be 100 µs. For the 34411A, 20 µs is the MIN. The same commands can be used for DCI, ohms, or temperature – but you have to change the VOLT to CURR, RES, FRES, or TEMP. Autozero cannot be turned off when making four-wire ohms measurements. Temperature measurements are all resistive and can be two- or four-wire measurements.
PAGE 16
Count and Delay Pacing Trigger How to set up various triggering scenarios Trigger Delay The 34410A and 34411A have two triggering models. The models are illustrated in Figure 10. When you use the SCPI commands shown in the previous section, the count and delay pacing model is implied. If the trigger delay is zero, the next measurement will begin immediately after the previous measurement. This model is particularly useful for generalpurpose measurements – especially if you want to use autorange.
PAGE 17
System readings and throughput rates The 34410A and 34411A have excellent programming and data retrieval performance. This performance is exhibited in the tables below, which are straight from the data sheet. There are three paths described in the system reading architecture diagram. See Figure 11. • Path A – this is the reading rate into reading storage. Top speed into memory is 50,000 readings/s, which is a function of the A-to-D sampling rate.
PAGE 18
The Advantages of a Built-In Web Server The 34410A and 34411A have a built-in Web server that provides a very powerful configuration, diagnosis, and programming tool. All you need is a LAN connection, Web browser, and the DMM’s IP address. If your computer can access eBay.com, you can access a 34410A/11A from anywhere. You need no other software to completely configure the DMM.
PAGE 19
Conclusion The 34410A and 34411A DMMs offer superior ease of use on the bench, and they offer blistering performance for test-system applications. Whether your application requires generalpurpose measurements, precision DC and AC measurements, waveform capture of mechanicalelectrical signals, or fast throughput and programming speed, the 34410A and 34411A offer measurement capabilities that make them ideal tools for a broad range of applications.
PAGE 20
Agilent Technologies’ Test and Measurement Support, Services, and Assistance Agilent Technologies aims to maximize the value you receive, while minimizing your risk and problems. We strive to ensure that you get the test and measurement capabilities you paid for and obtain the support you need. Our extensive support resources and services can help you choose the right Agilent products for your applications and apply them successfully. Every instrument and system we sell has a global warranty.