Posted Fri, 12 Jul 2024 17:45:12 GMT by Gsponer, Andreas
I am planning to perform high voltage (3kV) C-V measurements using the bias tees in the CVU-3K-KIT (see attached), a 2657A SMU and a 4215-CVU. The HV is applied to the DUT through a 2650-RBT-3K bias tee, while the low side is connected through a 2657A-PM-200 protection module and a 2600-RBT-200 bias tee.

I am struggling to understand the operation of the control voltage of the bias tees in the CVU-3K-KIT:
In order to perform capacitance measurements, the AC switch in the bias tee needs to be closed by applying a DC voltage of -10V on the AC input of the bias tee.
How is this DC voltage supposed to be generated? Using the integrated bias in the 4215-CVU or an external voltage source?
In the footnotes of the bias tee modes table (see picture), there is a footnote mention of an external voltage source.
However, an external voltage source would require an additional bias tee, right? So I assume the control voltage is supposed to be generated by the internal bias of the CVU?

I am familiar with the integrated 30V bias tee in the 4215-CVU, but in my thinking this bias voltage is always sourced either on the high (HPOT/HCUR) or low (LPOT/LCUR) side of the DUT, while the other side is at 0V.
In order to perform C-V measurements with these bias tees, I would need to apply -10V at both the high and low connectors.

In the K4200-KXCI reference manual, I found the following CVU command:

:CVU:DCV:OFFSET

which apparently can be used to apply a DC offset to the low terminal.
Does this mean I should use a 10V offset (:CVU:DCV:OFFSET -10) for the low terminal and set the high terminal also to -10V (:CVU:DCV -10)?
Are these DC voltages always applied, or just when doing measurements?
In order to perform an open correction, I would still need to be apply -10V to the bias tees in order to close the AC switches.

The documentation on the 2650-RBT-3K and 2600-RBT-200 bias tees is quite sparse, so I would be happy for some more information!
 
Posted Fri, 12 Jul 2024 17:47:14 GMT by Gsponer, Andreas
Here's a screenshot of the bias tee modes and the block diagram of the bias tee.
Posted Sat, 13 Jul 2024 12:28:51 GMT by C, Andrea
The CVU can source the DC bias at both CVUHI and CVULO.
To put the bias tees into CV mode, source -10 at each terminal from CVU.
The blocking cap of the bias tee will prevent this -10V from reaching DUT;  instead the bias from the SMU passes thru.

You are writing custom code to control it all?
Our ACS or ACS-Basic software has HVCV libraries for this configuration.
Posted Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:18:41 GMT by Gsponer, Andreas
Thanks for the quick reply!
We plan to integrate this measurement in our Python-based DAQ for our custom-built automated probe station, so I will be writing custom code to control the C-V measurement and not use ACS (which I currently do not have access to).
I never used the simultaneous voltage sourcing on CVUHI and CVULO, but this makes sense! With the following two commands the measurement now seems to work (-10V source at both CVUHI and CVULO):
:CVU:DCV:OFFSET -10

:CVU:DCV -10

However, if I perform an open correction the DC bias seems to be lost and set to 0V. Is there any way to prevent this?
I tried the :CVU:STANDBY 0 command to leave the DC bias enabled after the test, but this did not prevent the bias from being disabled.

If this is not possible, I could imagine performing the open correction manually (measuring Z for each range/frequency/terminal) and applying it offline, but this seems quite cumbersome.


Please let me know if this discussion is too off-topic for the Components & Accessories section and if I should re-post this question in Semiconductor Parameter Analyzers.
Posted Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:40:35 GMT by Gsponer, Andreas
A small update:

I downloaded the trial version of ACS and tested the open compensation there:
By looking at the command log in the K4200 KXCI, I was able to see the difference in the open correction performed by ACS with and without bias tees.

Without bias tees, the open correction is performed directly via :CVU:CABLE:COMP:OPEN.
With bias tees, the open correction is performed manually, measuring Z from both CVUHI and CVULO for all frequencies.
This manual open correction is then stored in a file and applied in ACS after the measurement.

Does this mean it is impossible to use :CVU:CABLE:COMP:OPEN directly with a DC bias?
Storing the open correction in the hardware on the 4215 CVU would be much more convenient than having to acquire and apply the open correction manually.

 

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