Re: testing transistors woth SMU 4130

[Travis W]

Hi - Check out <a href="http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/6856" target="_blank">this tutorial</a>.&nbsp; Although it specifically describes FETs instead of BJTs it should still provide some useful insight.&nbsp; On the last picture (Figure 6) you will see a wiring diagram for a BJT such as the bc847a.&nbsp; Connect the base to channel 0+, connect the collector to channel 1+, and tie the emitter to the negative terminal of both channels. The next question is software.&nbsp; You can use the NI-DCPower Soft Front Panel to set individual values for Vbe (or Ibe) and Vce and then measure the Vce, but to get a picture of how collector current behaves as a function of voltage then you'd really be much better off using NI SignalExpress or NI LabVIEW as mentioned in the tutorial linked above.&nbsp; If you have LabVIEW, there is already an example program shown to complete such a sweep.&nbsp; If you do not have LabVIEW, SignalExpress (which comes with the NI-DAQmx driver) can also accomodate the same functionality.&nbsp; I've attached a SignalExpress project that performs sweeps on an IRF350N FET, but you can customize this to work with a variety of FETs or BJTs.Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.Cheers,Travis W
Message Edited by Travis W on 08-01-2008 10:25 AM

FET_Sweep_IRF530N1.seproj:
http://forums.ni.com/attachments/ni/270/5693/1/FET_Sweep_IRF530N1.seproj