Test equipment is everywhere. Every trade show has it regardless of the focus. Power is no exception. At APEC 2024, EE World visited several booths displaying test equipment: meters, oscilloscopes, source-measure units (SMUs), bench power supplies, and electronic loads. The photos and videos below highlight what we saw, presented in alphabetical order by company.
In the B+K Precision booth, the company exhibited DMMs, SMUs and a data-acquisition system. On the top left is the 9140, a 32 V/300 W triple-output power supply. It’s also available in a 60 V version. This supply has connections for remote sensing of all three outputs on the rear panel. You can control it through its GPIB, USB, and Ethernet ports. The 9242 (top right) is a single output, 60 V, 200 W bench power supply.
The BCS6402 (center-left) 150 W battery charger and simulator has a bipolar output. It can sink current up to 5 A. On the right is the 8550, a 150 V, 30 A, 175 W electronic load. It can sink up to 350 W through its front-panel connectors.
The bottom instrument is an MR50040 programmable power supply capable of 500 V, 40 A, 5 kW output. It includes a solar-array simulator.
Chroma exhibited its 62180D bidirectional power supply and regenerative load. One of nine models in the 62000D series, this power supply is built for bench or automated production test. Use it to test motors, EV charging stations, and EV batteries.
While many oscilloscopes have accessories, software, and special versions for power measurements, the Cleverscope CS548 is a specialized oscilloscope for power measurements. This four-channel instrument features isolated channels. You can use it for low-side or high-side power measurements, for EMC testing, or for capturing startup sequencies. In the video below, Cleverscope’s Ken Henderson gives a demonstration.
When testing and characterizing power semiconductors, you can develop your own system with power supplies and loads or you can use systems from ipTEST. At APEC 2024, this UK-based company exhibited its modular power-semiconductor tester. You can configure the tester based on needs simply by changing the modules. You can, for example, perform on-state low-voltage tests, off-state high-voltage tests, gate resistance tests, capacitance tests, and dynamic-switching tests, among others.
Test equipment manufacturer Hioki exhibited several instruments including power analyzers and current probes. Here the company’s CT7822 AC/DC current sensor measures current in a battery operated handheld instrument.
Taiwan-based ITECH Electronics specializes in power electronics test equipment. At APEC, the company displayed several instruments. Shown below on the left is the IT2801 (left) SMU. Part of the IT2800 series, this instrument can produce up to ±20 W with maximum voltage of 1000 V or current up to ±1 A. Its displays can show voltage, current, and resistance measurements.
On the right is the IT-N6962 programmable bench power supply. One of four in a series, this until can produce up to 60 V, 25 A with 1 µA resolution, or 1500 W.
Below the IT-N6962 is the IT8732P+ multichannel DC electronic load. It can handle 600 v, 20 A, up to 300 W.
Keysight technologies exhibited several pieces of test equipment and software. One such product on display was the MXR608B eight-channel mixed-signal oscilloscope. The setup in the photo shows crosstalk measurements on high-speed digital signals and how power integrity affects signal integrity.
Mike Schnecker from Rohde & Schwarz used the company’s MXO58 eight-channel oscilloscope. The video shows a buck-converter board that contains ten converters from which you can see eight outputs. The company claims that the MXO50 series of oscilloscopes can capture signal at up to 90% or real time.
Tektronix and its Keithley subsidiary showed engineers oscilloscopes, SMUs, and meters. Exhibits included double-pulse testing for SiC and GaN, inverter motor drive analysis (IMDA), and C-V/I-V characterization. Instruments on display included the 4 Series B mixed-signal oscilloscope.
At the Teledyne LeCroy booth, Jonathan Shechter explained the company’s test setup for double-pulse testing. The oscilloscope provided displays of VDS, ID, and VGS.
Eight-channel oscilloscopes were everywhere at APEC 2024. That’s because you often need to observe voltage and current at several locations on a board or from a motor. Yokogawa showed it eight-channel DLM5058HD mixed-signal oscilloscope with 500 MHz bandwidth. The company also displayed its WT5000 power analyzer, which provides insight in AC mains power quality. It provides voltage, current, power, harmonic, and flicker analysis.
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