Referenced in 1000s of research papers 6517B Electrometer/High Resistance Meter Datasheet Key Features 18 Measures resistances up to 10 18 10 aA (1010 A) current measurement resolution Complete hardware-software solution for ASTM D257 high resistivity measurements with the 6517B, 8009 Resistivity Test Fixture, and the KickStart High Resistivity Measurement Application <3 fA input bias current 6-digit high accuracy measurement mode <20 V burden voltage on the lowest current ranges The Keithley 6517B Electrometer/High Resistance Voltage measurements up to 200 V with >200 input Meter is the worldwide research laboratory standard for impedance sensitive measurements. With over 60 years of low level measurement expertise, Keithley electrometers provide Built-in 1000 V voltage source reliable measurements of current levels down to 10 aA Unique alternating polarity voltage sourcing 18 (1010 A), charge levels down to 1 fC, and the highest and measurement method for high resistance 18 resistance measurements available up to 10 . The measurements 6517B is also capable of measuring the largest voltage Built-in test sequences for four different device rangeup to 200 Vwith an input impedance exceeding characterization tests, surface and volume resistivity, 200 T. All this performance is built into an instrument that surface insulation resistance, and voltage sweeping operates as simply as a digital multimeter. Optional plug-in scanner cards for testing up to ten devices or material samples with one test setup Exceptional Performance GPIB and RS-232 interfaces Specifications The 6517B has incorporated Keithleys decades of Wide Measurement Ranges expertise in low level measurement technology into an The 6517B offers autoranging over the full span of innovative, low current input amplifier with an input bias ranges on current, resistance, voltage, and charge current of <3 fA, just 0.75 fA p-p noise, and <20 V measurements. The 6517B combines the following burden voltage on the lowest current ranges. The voltage measurement capabilities: circuit input impedance is greater than 200 T for near- ideal circuit loading. These specifications ensure the Ultra-sensitive ammeter with current measurement accuracy and sensitivity needed for accurate low current from 10 aA to 20 mA and high impedance voltage, resistance, and charge Highest impedance voltmeter with voltage measurements in areas of research such as physics, measurement from 1 V to 200 V optics, nanotechnology, and materials science. A built- in 1 kV voltage source with sweep capability simplifies Ultra-high range ohmmeter with resistance 18 performing leakage, breakdown, and resistance testing, measurement from 1 to 10 as well as volume (-cm) and surface resistivity (/square) Sensitive coulombmeter with charge measurement measurements on insulating materials. from 1 fC to 2 C A Tektronix CompanyDatasheet +1 Current Stored Current Measurement 0 Current (pA) Samples Background Current Voltage Source 1 +V 0 V The alternating voltage source polarity method eliminates the effects of background currents in materials for making repeatable, accurate high resistance and resistivity measurements. consistent, repeatable, and accurate measurements for Improved High Resistivity a wide variety of materials and components, especially Measurements when used in combination with the 8009 Resistivity Many test applications require measuring high levels Test Fixture. of resistivity (surface or volume) of materials. The conventional method of making these measurements is to Alternating Polarity Method for apply a sufficiently large voltage to a sample, measure the High Resistivity Measurements current that flows through the sample, then calculate the The 6517B uses the Alternating Polarity Method, resistance using Ohms Law (R=V/I). While high resistance which virtually eliminates the effect of any background materials and devices produce very small currents that currents in the sample. First and second order drifts are difficult to measure accurately, Keithley electrometers of the background currents are also canceled out. The and picoammeters are used successfully for such Alternating Polarity Method applies a voltage of positive measurements. polarity, then the current is measured after a specified delay (Measure Time). Next, the polarity is reversed and Even with high quality instrumentation, inherent the current measured again, using the same delay. This background currents in the material can make these process is repeated continuously, and the resistance is measurements difficult to perform accurately. Insulating calculated based on a weighted average of the four most materials, polymers, and plastics typically exhibit recent current measurements. This method typically background currents due to piezoelectric effects, produces a highly repeatable, accurate measurement of capacitive elements charged by static electricity, and resistance (or resistivity) by the seventh reversal on most polarization effects. These background currents are materials (i.e., by discarding the first three readings). For often equal to or greater than the current stimulated by 14 example, a 1mm-thick sample of 10 -cm material the applied voltage. In these cases, the result is often can be measured with 0.3% repeatability in the 8009 unstable, providing inaccurate resistance or resistivity Resistivity Test Fixture, provided the background current readings or even erroneous negative values. Keithleys changes less than 200 fA over a 15-second period. 6517B is designed to solve these problems and provides 2 TEK.COM