Keysight Technologies introduces Source/Measure Units that helps engineers deliver exceptional battery life in mobile-device designs

Keysight Technologies today announced the addition of two source/measure units (SMUs) to its N6700 Series modular power systems – the N6785A two-quadrant SMU for battery drain analysis and the N6786A two-quadrant SMU for functional test. Both SMUs provide power output up to 80 W.

The two new SMUs expand the popular N6780A Series SMU family by offering up to four times more power than the previous models. The new models offer exceptional sourcing, measurement and analysis to help engineers deliver the best possible battery life in their devices. The N6785A and N6786A SMUs allow engineers to test devices that require current up to 8 A, such as tablets, large smartphones (known as phablets), police/military handheld radios and components of these devices.

“One of the greatest challenges in the mobile, battery-powered device market is extending battery life,” said Kari Fauber, general manager of Keysight’s Power & Energy Division. “Users of these devices don’t want to have their connectivity interrupted by a dead battery. The addition of the N6785A and N6786A SMUs helps engineers deliver exceptional battery life in their larger, more power-hungry devices.”

The N6780A Series SMUs eliminate the challenges of measuring dynamic currents with a feature called seamless measurement ranging. With seamless measurement ranging, engineers can precisely measure dynamic currents without any glitches or disruptions to the measurement. As the current drawn by the device under test (DUT) changes, the SMU automatically detects the change and switches to the current measurement range that will return the most precise measurement.

When combined with the SMU’s built-in 18-bit digitizer, seamless measurement ranging enables unprecedented effective vertical resolution of ~28-bits. This capability lets users visualize current drain from nA to A in one pass. All data needed is presented in a single picture, which helps users unlock insights to deliver exceptional battery life.

Key features and benefits of the N6780 Series SMUs:

Exceptional sourcing:

• Stable, glitch-free sourcing and sinking (charge/electronic load), just like a battery                            
• Programmable output resistance mimics the battery’s internal resistance

Exceptional measurement:

• Engineers can characterize a device’s off-, sleep- and transmit-mode current in one pass and one picture with Keysight’s patented seamless measurement ranging technology, eliminating the need to make multiple measurement sweeps
• Engineers can perform battery rundown tests and characterize how a device performs with an actual battery with the SMU’s ammeter (zero-burden current shunt) mode

Exceptional analysis:

• Built-in digitizer measures and logs voltage, current and power every ~5 us (~200 kHz)

14585A software provides scope, data logger and CCDF functionality to see and analyze short- and long-term power usage. The Keysight 14585A control and analysis software for the N6705 DC power analyzer enhances the user experience of the N6705 mainframe by offering advanced functionality and analysis via a PC.

The new SMUs are a part of the N6700 modular power system, which consists of the N6700 low-profile mainframes for ATE applications and the N6705B DC power analyzer mainframe for R&D. The product family has four mainframes and more than 30 DC power modules, providing a complete spectrum of solutions, from R&D through design validation and manufacturing.

"Battery Drain Analysis with Seamless Measurement Ranging, N6781A, N6785A" video by Kevin Cavell (Keysight Technologies, product manager)