Cleveland, Ohio – February 21, 2006 - Keithley Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:KEI), a leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, announced today that its Series 2400 SourceMeter® Instruments have received the Test of Time Award from Test & Measurement World Magazine. The Test of Time Award, which was created to recognize product lines that provide state-of-the-art performance for at least five years after their introduction, was announced at the magazine’s awards ceremony on February 9, 2006, during the APEX Show in Anaheim, California.Introduced in 1996, the Series 2400 SourceMeter Instrument Line has the unique ability to measure current and source voltage simultaneously, or measure voltage and source current simultaneously.
In addition, all of the experience accumulated in advancing the Series 2400 has been included in the latest generation of SourceMeter Instruments, the Series 2600 System SourceMeter Multi-Channel I-V Test Solutions.A SourceMeter Instrument combines three instruments in one: a current source, a voltage source, and a multimeter. Previously, current and voltage had to be measured with separate instruments. Because Series 2400 SourceMeter Instruments measure both parameters at once, programming is much simpler. Series 2400 SourceMeter Instruments provide the four-quadrant source-measure unit (SMU) capability needed for IV characterization and functional test of electronic and semiconductor components.
They are used in applications requiring tightly coupled sourcing and measurement. In these applications, the instruments significantly lower the cost of test for a wide range of electronic component devices, including those produced by silicon and compound semiconductor manufacturers. Before the Series 2400 was developed, users had to integrate power supplies, DMMs, and picoammeters to build low-cost IV test systems. These systems were difficult for users to integrate and often resulted in subpar measurement performance and test speed.
The Series 2400 SourceMeter Line integrates the four-quadrant V and I source with high-precision (5.5 and 6.5 digit) measurement of V, I, and Ohms into a single instrument at a reasonable cost. This dramatically simplifies IV test systems while maintaining low system cost.The Series 2400 Line initially consisted of a single model.
Keithley has since released 12 additional models to provide higher voltage, current, and power capability, as well as support for contact check. Keithley has also developed the firmware capability of the Series 2400 to include more automation capability for high-speed testing.