Main Vision Manual – II – Precision Testers and Accessories

Authors Radiant Technologies Inc.

Plaintext

Main Vision Manual

User guide
2021
Main Vision Manual 2

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4
Contact Radiant Technologies, Inc. .............................................................................................. 15
Contact Radiant Technologies, Inc. ...................................................................................... 15
Getting Started .............................................................................................................................. 15
Precision Testers and Accessories ................................................................................................ 16
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 16
Safety ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Precision Testers ..................................................................................................................... 21
Tester Installation.................................................................................................................. 21
Tester Theory ........................................................................................................................ 36
Tester Operation.................................................................................................................... 55
Mitigating 50 Hz/60 Hz Noise ............................................................................................ 64
High-Voltage Setup and Operation....................................................................................... 68
Magneto-Electric Setup and Operation ................................................................................. 81
Tester Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................... 95
Precision Tester Family (Models and Specifications) .......................................................... 96
Precision RT66C ............................................................................................................... 97
Precision LC II .............................................................................................................. 101
Precision Premier II...................................................................................................... 105
Precision Multiferroic II............................................................................................... 109
PiezoMEMS (pMEMS) ................................................................................................. 113
Radiant Technologies Accessories ....................................................................................... 120
High-Voltage Interface (HVI)............................................................................................. 121
High-Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF) ................................................................................. 124
High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM) ..................................................................... 125
Heated High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HB-PTB) or (HVDM II) ............................... 127
Installation, Configuration, Calibration and Operation .................................................. 130
High-Temperature Test Fixture (HTTF) ............................................................................. 153
CS 2.5 Current Source ........................................................................................................ 156

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Main Vision Manual 3

RTI D2850C 8-Channel Multiplexer with Thermocouple .................................................... 160
RTI pMUX 2108 8-Channel Rack-Mounted Multiplexer with Thermocouple .................. 161
Precision Nano-Displacement Sensor (PNDS) ................................................................... 162
I2C Voltage Controller (I2C DAC) .................................................................................... 163
E31 ...................................................................................................................................... 164
Standard RTI Samples ............................................................................................................ 165
AB/AD Capacitors - Packaged Ferroelectric Samples ....................................................... 165
Magneto-Electric Samples .................................................................................................. 167
Piezoelectric Samples ......................................................................................................... 168
Cantilevers ...................................................................................................................... 169
Bulk Ceramic Disk.......................................................................................................... 170
Thin Film (AFM/PNDS) ................................................................................................. 171
Precision Tester Internal Reference Elements .................................................................... 172

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Main Vision Manual 4

Introduction

Vision Program for Precision Testers

The Precision Family of Ferroelectric Testers
The Precision Materials Analyzer family of ferroelectric testers provides a full range of high-
speed, high-precision ferroelectric material characterization instruments to meet every budget
and research need. A comparison of model cost, speed and voltage capability is given at Vision
Testers. All systems are capable of internally-generated sample stimulus voltages of 10.0 Volts1.
Most systems include internal amplifiers that allow 100.0-Volt measurements. 200.0-Volt and
500.0-Volt options are also available. Voltages of up to 10,000 Volts can be used by adding an
accessory High Voltage Amplifier (HVA) and High Voltage Interface (HVI). The researcher
may connect any existing amplifier, provided a logic unit (known as an ID Module) is obtained
from RTI. The latest HVI model, released in 2017, has the ID module built into the instrument. It
is programmed for delivery at Radiant Technologies, Inc., but may be reprogrammed at any time
by the user.

The Vision Program
A single, unifying program, called Vision, provides a consistent compatible interface across all
hardware architectures. It is designed with the understanding that what is important in ferroelec-
tric testing is maintaining a complete and accurate history of the signals applied to, and the re-
sponses of, a sample. The researcher has the capability to create custom experiments that are as
simple or elaborate as required. Experiments can be run, rerun, reconfigured and repeated. As an
experiment is executed, it is saved along with the measured data to be recalled for reuse. Data
can easily be recalled for examination. On-board tools are available to provide data analysis and
comparison of multiple data vectors. Data may be exported directly to Excel, Word, text files or
a printer for analysis and publication. Data are organized into archives that hold both the data
and the experiments that produced them. These archives are uniquely named and are written to
individual files that may be sorted and stored in any way that is most logical to the researcher.
These files can be emailed or written to an external data storage (USB drive, CD, etc.) for use by
other researchers that are running the Vision program. Vision can be installed on non-tester
computers for the purpose of recalling and reviewing data or creating experimental Test Defini-
tions.

This manual provides a complete description and set of instructions for the use of Vision Version
5.x.x. (As of this writing, Vision 5.26.4 is being shipped.) The system is large and complex, but
is designed so that the new user can begin to get immediate results without exhaustive training.
Much of the detail of the program is segmented into Tasks that perform specific functions. Tasks
may be very simple or very complex, but the user need only learn to use the Tasks that are im-
portant to the research at hand. The manual gives a complete overview of the program, a number
of tutorial sessions, step-by-step operating procedures for the most common operations in Vision
and a detailed description of each Task including a discussion of every control that appears on
every dialog. The Task descriptions are also available using the Click For Task Instructions but-
ton on any dialog associated with the Task.

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Main Vision Manual 5

The Vision program, its Tasks and its drivers, as well as these help pages, are under constant de-
velopment. In order to use the most up-to-date and efficient release of the Vision program please
visit the Vision download form regularly. The current Vision version and release date are noted
near the top of the form. If an update is in order, fill in the form and click Submit. You will be
linked to the Vision installer download page. Review the information on the page. Then click the
installer download button and install or update per the instructions on the page.

A Note on Vision Structure and Versioning
The Vision program is a framework program that provides services to Vision Tasks. Tasks are
semi-independent agents that perform the work within the program. Tasks loaded by Vision at
runtime into the Task Library. Some Tasks are also loaded into the Vision QuikLook Menu.

Figure 1 - Tasks in the Task Library and Figure 2 - Task in the
QuikLook Menu.
The Vision program version is divided into three sections. The first is the main version. It repre-
sents major changes or additions to the program that occur infrequently. The current version is
"5". The second digit represents changes to the main framework program that happen frequently
but are of significant influence on the program. At this writing the second digit in the Vision ver-
sion is "12". In some cases these changes will not be apparent to the customer. The final digit
(currently "10") represents minor changes. In all cases, changes to the Vision version number
refer only to changes to the framework program, not to changes to individual Tasks or groups of

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Main Vision Manual 6

Tasks. The Vision version can be seen by going to Help->About Vision. Note that the "(R)" in
the version number indicates that this is a release compilation of the program for customers.

Figure 3 - The "About Vision" Dialog.
As a semi-independent agent, each Task has its own version. The first two numbers of the Task
version will always agree with the first two digits of the Vision program version. When the Vi-
sion version was updated to "5.12.0" all Tasks were also updated to "5.12.0". After that point, the
Vision program version - representing changes to the framework - and the Task version will di-
verge as changes are made to individual Tasks. Task versions will also differ from each other.
The configuration dialog for each Task will show the Task version, the date of the version and
the initial release year. Measurement Tasks that present data in a dialog will show the same in-
formation on that dialog.

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Main Vision Manual 7

Figure 4 - Task Versions.
The "About Vision" dialog of Figure 3 also shows a "Driver Version". The Driver is a Windows
DLL program that takes input from Vision and formats it so that it can be understood by the test-
er. It communicates the information to the tester and receives tester response. The response is
reformatted for, and passed back to, the Vision program. The driver program version will gener-
ally resemble the Vision version but is completely independent.

If you are having trouble with your tester, your Vision program or with Windows interface to
either we will often ask you for the Vision and/or Driver version. Vision provides tools that
make it easy for you to obtain that information in a suitable format and send it to us. If we need
such information we will guide you to those tools.

Licensing
Vision is freely distributed to any and all parties who have an interest without further license.
The program may be downloaded any number of times and may be instaled on any number of
host computers. The practical uses of the program are limited without a Precision tester, but the
program is fully operational with or without a tester. With no tester present, data-collecting
Tasks will generate meaningless synthetic data. Any party can register a DataSet taken by any
other party to review archived data and investigate the construction of the experiment (Test Def-
inition).

Licensing Custom Task Suites
A number of groups of Vision Tasks, known as Custom Task Suites must be purchased and li-
censed before they will operate. The Tasks are freely distributed with Vision. Any user can open
the Task configuration dialog for review and to access the Task Instructions. Any user can re-
view Custom Task data collected by a licensed installation of the Custom Task. However, to op-
erate the Task it must be licensed. The license is in the form of a file named Security.sec that is
placed in C:\Program Files (x86)\Radiant Technologies\Vision\System. The Task is coded to the
Task Suite or Task Suites being purchased. It is also coded to an embedded ID in the tester for
which it is purchased. In order for a Custom Task to operate, the security.sec file must be in

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Main Vision Manual 8

place and the specified tester must be connected to the Vision host and powered.

The security.sec file may be copied to any number of host computers. However, it cannot be
transferred to any other Precision Tester.

Task Suites include:

• Chamber (Pyroelectric): Set Temperature/Measure at a series of temperatures. This
offers automatic control of a variety of thermal controllers.
• Chamber: Measure using PUND.
• Remanent Chamber: Measure using Remanent Hysteresis.
• Piezo: Measure the sample polarization (µC/cm2) and displacement response. The
displacement response is measured by an external displacement detector and captured
as a voltage at the SENSOR port.
• Piezo: Basic measurement. Normally used for bulk samples. There are minimal
onboard noise reduction tools.
• Advanced Piezo: Normally used for thin film samples with data taken from an
AFM. There are advanced noise reduction tools and extensive data processing.
• Piezo Filter: Gather, operate on, store and plot Piezoelectric data from one or
more Piezo and/or Advanced Piezo Task.
• Transistor: Capture transistor drain current as a function of VSource and VGate.
• Transistor Current: Transistor response at a single Vgs and Vds.
• Transistor IV: Transistor response at a single Vds over a range of Vgs.
• Transistor Curve Trace: Series of Transistor responses at a single Vds over a range
of Vgs. Vds changes at each sweep.
• Magneto-Electric: Capture sample polarization (µC/cm2) as a function of a variable
magnetic field provided by a Helmholtz coil. Older installations used a KEPCO BOP
36 current amplifier to provide stimulus to the Helmholtz coil. These also used a
Lakeshore 425 Gaussmeter to calibrate the field at the sample. Later measurements us
the RTI CS 2.5 current source to drive the Helmholtz coil. Hall Effect sensors are
built into a shield box to directly detect the magnetic field at measurement time. M.E.
Tasks are divided into Kepco and CS 2.5 groups.
• Magneto-Electric Response: Hysteresis style polarization (µC/cm2) over a period-
ic magnetic field (G).
• DC Field: Set and hold a fixed DC magnetic field (G) for a user-specified period
of time (s).
• Single-Point C/V (MR): measure sample small-signal capacitance (nF) using a
magnetic field (G) stimulus.

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Main Vision Manual 9

Figure 5 - Notice Appears when Unlicensed Piezo is Accessed. The
Configuration Dialog will Open when the Notice is Closed.
A small note on text format in these Help pages.
There is not a large list of various textual representations in the Vision help pages. However,
these few rules do apply:

1. Vision key words are always capitalized, as in Task, DataSet or Test Definition.
2. Names of controls on dialogs are italicized as in Task Name , VMax or Comments .
3. Text within controls is specified in quotations. For example '... and set Task Name to
"5.0-Volt Hysteresis".'
4. References to figures and tables with in text are set in bold type as in '... Figure 7 rep-
resents...'.

A small note on Vision documentation
This collection of documents forms the main Vision manual. It, along with Task-specific and
dialog-specific help, accessed by clicking Click For Task Instructions/Click For Dialog Instruc-
tions on any Vision dialog, form the complete set of program documentation. The Vision pro-
gram changes frequently. Documentation will normally lag behind program updating, sometimes
by significant periods of time. One consequence is often that an image of a dialog or set of con-
trols in the documents to not exactly resemble the program windows being discussed. Neverthe-
less, Vision is designed to grow naturally so that older documentation will still be correct and
helpful, even where it may be incomplete.

Note that Task Instructions will provide more detailed Task-specific information that is also like-
ly to be more up-to-date than these general Vision help pages. The Task Instructions should form
the major reference for the Vision program.

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Main Vision Manual 10

System Requirements
All modern Windows-based host computers have sufficient resources to install and operate the
Vision program. Vision should install and operate correctly under 32-bit and 64-bit Windows
operating system from Windows XP through Windows 10. However Radiant Technologies, Inc.
can no longer provide customer support for installations on Windows versions older than Win-
dows 7.

Maintaining Vision
The Vision program does not have tools installed on the host computer to search for version up-
dates. However, the Vision program is upgraded very frequently. Two or three version updates in
a week are not unheard of. Often these updates include significant improvements or important
fixes. Furthermore, the first request when you are asking Radiant Technologies, Inc. for assis-
tance will be to ensure that you are running the latest Vision.

To update Vision, go to http://www.ferrodevices.com/1/297/download_vision_software.asp, fill
in the form and click Submit. You will be linked to the Vision Installer Download page. Review
the information on the page and click the download button. Acknowledge all warning. Allow the
file to download and then run it. The installer will quickly update most installations. Older Vi-
sion installations must be uninstalled before the installer will write the newer version. Unin-
stalling using the standard Windows program uninstall tool will leave custom files such as secu-
rity.sec and custom DataSets in place.

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Figure 6 -Vision Install/Update Form.

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Main Vision Manual 13

Figure 7 - Vision Installer Download Page
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Main Vision Manual 15

Contact Radiant Technologies, Inc.

Mr. Joe Evans President
Ms. Michelle Bell Marketing and Sales
Mr. Bob Howard Hardware Design and Construction
Mr. Spencer Smith Hardware Design and Vision/Hardware Interface (Driver)
Mr. Scott Chapman Software Design and Programming, Training, Customer Support
2835 Pan American Fwy NE
Suite B and C
Albuquerque, NM 87107
1-800-289-7176
505-842-8007 Voice
505-842-0366 FAX
radiant@ferrodevices.com
www.ferrodevices.com Process and Clean Room
www.ferroelectrictesters.com Precision Testers
.

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Main Vision Manual 16

Precision Testers and Accessories

Introduction

Before providing a complete discussion of the Vision program, this manual will summarize the
hardware that Vision is intended to control. The primary hardware to control is a member of the
Radiant Technologies, Inc. Precision Tester Family. This section will revisit tester installation.
Then a simplified discussion of tester theory and circuitry is presented to give a glimpse of activ-
ities "under the hood". This discussion will be important in understanding the meaning of various
controls in the Vision configuration dialog later on. An important discussion in this section is the
theory of the virtual ground circuitry used in the Precision tester family and a comparison be-
tween virtual ground and the familiar Sawyer Tower measurement.

The special circumstances of high-voltage measurements and magneto-electric measurements
each are presented in their own section. These sections will, of necessity, introduce Precision
tester accessories available from Radiant Technologies, In. Each accessory will be examined in
more detail later in the section.

The tester discussion to this point will have been general and applicable to every model in the
Precision family. In the next section the specifications, features and limitations of each model are
presented.

As already noted, the final section will provide complete details on all of the available Radiant
accessories. The purpose, structure and use of each accessory is discussed. The accessory is then
placed in the larger context of its association with the Precision tester family and other accesso-
ries.

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Main Vision Manual 17

Safety
Symbols Appearing on Equipment

- Electrical Shock Hazard: Do not touch DRIVE, HV DRIVE, RE-
TURN or HV RETURN terminals while the Precision tester and/or Precision High-Voltage In-
terface (HVI) and/or High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA) is/are turned on.

- Burn Hazard: Touching this surface could result in bodily injury.
To reduce risk of injury allow the surface to cool before touching.

Terms that May Appear in the Manual

Warning: Warning statements identify conditions or practices that could result in injury
or loss of life.

Caution: Caution statements identify conditions or practices that could result in damage
to the instrument(s).

General Safety Precautions

Use the Power Cord Provided: To avoid fire hazard and provide proper grounding, use
only the AC power cord provided with the equipment.

Avoid Electric Overload: To avoid electric shock or fire hazard, as well as damage to
the equipment, do not apply a voltage to a terminal that outside the range specified for
that terminal

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Main Vision Manual 18

Avoid Electric Shock: To avoid electric shock do not touch the DRIVE, HV DRIVE,
RETURN or HV RETURN connectors while the equipment is turned on.

Ground the Equipment: These instruments are electrically grounded through the ground
conductor of the provided AC power cords. To avoid electric shock and damage to the
equipment the ground conductor must be connected to earth ground. Before making con-
nections to the input and output terminal of these products ensure that the equipment is
properly grounded.

Do Not Operate Without Covers: To avoid electric shock or fire hazard do not operate
these instruments with the covers removed.

User Proper Fuses: To avoid electric shock or fire hazard use only the fuse type and rat-
ing specified for the instrument. Fuses are specified in the individual instrument specifi-
cations.

Indoor Use Only: These instruments are intended for indoor use only.

Mount the Equipment Properly: The equipment should be stacked firmly on a bench or
mounted in an equipment rack using the correct rack-mounting hardware.

Do Not Operate in Wet or Damp Conditions: To avoid electric shock and damage to
the instrument do not operate these devices in wet or damp conditions. Humidity limits
are included in the individual instrument specifications.

Do Not Operate in an Explosive Environment: To avoid injury or fire hazard do not
operate this equipment in an explosive environment.

Operate in the Proper Environmental Conditions: The equipment must be operated
within the specified temperature and humidity range. Ranges are published for each in-
strument in the instrument's specifications.

Product Protection Precautions

Use the Proper Power Source: Do not operate these instruments from a power source
that is different from the voltage parameters listed in the individual instrument specifica-
tions.

Provide Proper Ventilation: To prevent the instrument from overheating provide the
proper ventilation..

Do Not Operate with Suspected Failures: If you suspect that there is damage to an in-
strument have it inspected by qualified personnel.

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Main Vision Manual 20

Power Supply Block Diagram

Service and Maintenance
Do not open the equipment. No user-servicable parts inside. Refer servicing to Radiant Technol-
ogies, Inc.

Failure to observe these precautions and/or use of the equipment in a manner not specified
by Radiant Technologies, Inc. may impair the protection provided by the equipment.

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Main Vision Manual 21

Precision Testers

Tester Installation

As of this writing Vision 5.20.0 is being distributed. With version 5.20.0 Vision can no longer be
installed under Windows XP. This document considers tester installation only under Windows 7,
8, 8.1 and 10.

NOTE: The Vision program must be installed to the Vision/tester host computer before attempt-
ing to install the tester.

Windows 7 Installation
All generations of Precision tester operate through the Windows WinUSB driver. WinUSB is not
necessarily native to Windows 7. The Vision installer includes the appropriate Windows driver,
WinUSB.DLL.

All Precision Testers and several accessories must be installed to Windows. Connect the instru-
ment to a Vision host USB port (a USB 3.0 port is recommended) and power on. Windows will
attempt to install the tester, but it will fail because it does not know how to find the driver. The
tester must be installed manually. The figures below show the installation of a Precision LC II
tester.

1. On the Windows 7 desktop, right-click the "Computer" icon and select "Manage from the
popup menu.

2. In the left pane of the window that appears select "Device Manager". In the right pane ex-
pand the "Universal Serial Bus devices" folder and select "WinUSB device". (The device
may also appear as "Unknown device" and may appear somewhere else in the device tree.)
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Main Vision Manual 22

Right-click and select "Update Driver Software..." from the popup menu.

3. In the window that appears, click the Browse my computer for driver software option.

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Main Vision Manual 23

4. In the next window, click the Browse button. In the file explorer window navigate to and se-
lect C:\RT_USB. Click OK to close the explorer and update the file path.

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5. A warning appears that indicates that the driver for the tester is not digitally signed. Click the
Install this driver software anyway selection.

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6. Allow the installation to proceed. This may take several seconds. When the installation is
complete a notice appears that indicates that "Windows has successfully updated your driver
software". The tester (or accessory) names will be displayed.

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7. When the notice is closed, the instrument will appear, by name, in the Device Manager.

Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 installation
All testers distributed after 2014, and all USB accessories, will install themselves to Windows 8,
8.1 or 10 with no action from the user other than to connect the instrument to a Vision host USB
port and to power on the device. Devices older than 2014 must be manually installed as in the
previous (Windows 7) section. However, under these operating systems the host computer must
be rebooted with Driver Signature Enforcement disabled before connecting the instrument and
proceeding with the driver installation. The steps to disable Driver Signature Enforcement differ
between Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 and between various releases of Windows 10. Here are the steps
for Windows 8, 8.1 and the latest release of Windows 10. If the steps do not work, Googling
"Disable Driver Signature Enforcement Windows xxx" will produce a large number of links that
will demonstrate the process.

Windows 8

1. Move the cursor to the lower-right display corner.
2. Click the “Settings” icon (gear icon).

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Main Vision Manual 27

3. Select “Change PC Settings”
4. Choose “General”, and then scroll to bottom of right pane, under “Advanced Settings” click
“Re-start Now” button.
5. Choose “Troubleshoot” icon, choose “Advanced Options” icon, choose “Startup Settings”
icon.
6. Click the “Restart” button. Upon restarting, Windows will display a selection menu.
7. Choose “7) Disable driver signature enforcement”.
8. After the machine boots up, connect the RTI Tester.
9. Open the Device Manager by using the keystrokes <WindowsKey+X> to open a list of op-
tions and then select the Device Manager.
10. Find the Tester under “Unknown Devices.”
11. Right click on the Tester and choose Update Driver Software.
12. Browse to NGS.INF in the C:\RT_USB folder as discussed under Windows 7 Installation,
above.
13. Allow the installation to proceed as above.

Windows 8.1

1. Move the cursor to the lower-right display corner.
2. Click the “Settings” icon (gear icon).
3. Select “Change PC Settings”
4. Select “Update and Recovery”
5. Select “Recovery”
6. Select “Advanced Startup”
7. Select “Restart Now”
8. Select “Troubleshoot”
9. Select “Advanced Options”
10. Select “Startup Settings”
11. Select “Restart”
12. On restart, press ‘7’ to disable Driver Signature Enforcement.
13. After the machine boots up, connect the RTI Tester.
14. Open the Device Manager by using the keystrokes <Windows Key+X> to open a list of op-
tions and then select the Device Manager.
15. Find the Tester under “Unknown Devices.”
16. Right click on the Tester and choose Update Driver Software.
17. Browse to NGS.INF in the C:\RT_USB folder as discussed under Windows 7 Installation,
above.
18. Allow the installation to proceed as above.

Windows 10

1. Click the Start button and choose the Settings icon.

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Main Vision Manual 28

2. In the window that appears type "Update and Security" into the text box and conduct the
search.

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Main Vision Manual 29

3. In the next window select "Recovery" on the left pane and click Advanced Startup->Restart
Now.

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Main Vision Manual 30

4. Windows will shut down and reboot. Before shutting down it needs to be provided with in-
structions for the reboot. In the first window that appears, click Troubleshoot.

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Main Vision Manual 31

5. In the next window click Advanced Options.

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Main Vision Manual 32

6. Then you need to click See more recovery options.

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Main Vision Manual 33

7. Click the Startup Settings button.

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Main Vision Manual 34

8. Click the Restart button.

9. Windows will reboot. Before the operating system starts you are provided with a list of op-
tions. Press '7' to start Windows with Driver Signature Enforcement disabled.

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Main Vision Manual 35

10. The tester may now be installed. Please note that:

• When Windows is rebooted again Driver Signature Enforcement will be renabled.
• These specific steps may not apply to your version of Windows. You may need to search
for the proper procedures or Google "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement Windows
10".

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Main Vision Manual 36

Tester Theory

Virtual Ground
All Precision testers operate by measuring the electrical charge (µC) stimulated at one electrode
of the sample under test by a voltage stimulus applied to the opposite electrode. This is compared
to the more traditional Sawyer Tower method below. In the Precision tester the charge is cap-
tured at the RETURN port, passed through an amplification stage and into an integrator whose
voltage output relates directly to the charge input. A simplified diagram is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Virtual Ground
The circuit is called "Virtual Ground" because the Sample Charge (µC) Signal enters the Tran-
simpedance Amplifier at zero Volts. This will be an important consideration in comparing Virtu-
al Ground measurements to Sawyer Tower measurements.

Virtual Ground Vs Sawyer Tower
An earlier standard for measuring the response of a non-linear sample under test - and one still
taught to students - is the Sawyer Tower Circuit. In this much simpler circuit the voltage drop
across a Sense Capacitor that is in series with the sample under test is measured. This voltage
drop can then be directly related to the voltage drop across the sample under test. Here, then, the
voltage across the sample, rather than the current through the sample, is measured. The simple
circuit is shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2 - Sawyer Tower
The Sawyer Tower circuit has the advantage of simplicity. There, however, the advantages end.
There are three main problems with the Sawyer Tower technique:

Sense Capacitor
The Sense Capacitor is the critical element in the circuit. It must be a capacitor whose
value is very precisely known. Furthermore the Sense Capacitor should be approximately
ten times the capacitance of the Sample Under Test. That means that the sample capaci-
tance needs to be well-estimated in constructing the Sawyer Tower circuit. The 10 X size
ratio of the Sense Capacitor to the Sample Under Test is chosen to reduce Back Voltage.
The Virtual Ground circuit uses a fixed, precisely-known integrating capacitor that is de-
signed to measure samples with a wide range of capacitances. The value of the capacitor
does not need to be selected by, or known to, the user.

Back Voltage from the Sense Capacitor
As the Drive Voltage Signal peaks and begins to return to zero Volts during a Hysteresis
measurement, the charge accumulated by the Sense Capacitor will create a back voltage
at the sample electrode opposite the the Drive Voltage Signal (Figure 3). The effect of
this Back Voltage combines with the influence of the Drive Voltage Signal to distort the
sample's voltage response.

Figure 3 - Back Voltage in a Sawyer Tower Measurement
With the sample response held at 0.0 Volts at the RETURN port, the Virtual Ground cir-
cuitry allows for no Back Voltage to be applied to the sample RETURN electrode and
does not distort the measurement.

Parasitic Capacitance
All electronic circuits have capacitance. In the case of the Sawyer Tower circuit this ca-
pacitance can be modeled as a single constant capacitor in parallel with the Sense Capaci-
tor (Figure 4). The parasitic capacitance sums with the Sense Capacitor, increasing its to-
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tal capacitance. Since the parasitic capacitance is constant the contribution of this capaci-
tance to error varies with the size of the Sense Capacitor. The contribution, as a percent-
age of the total, is larger for smaller Sense Capacitors.

Figure 4 - Sawyer Tower Parasitic Capacitance
Virtual Ground circuitry also has parasitic capacitance. However, on the RETURN signal
side of the circuit, the capacitance is modeled between the zero-Volt Virtual Ground in-
put of the circuit and earth ground. (Figure 5.) With no voltage across the parasitic ca-
pacitance the capacitor model introduces no contribution to the measured signal.

Figure 5 - Virtual Ground Parasitic Capacitance
Note that the Transimpedance Amplifier, the Charge Integrator and other tester circuitry
also add parasitic capacitance that does affect the measured data beyond the RETURN
port. Normally this capacitance is insignificant with respect to the strength of the meas-
ured signal and can be ignored. For measurements on very small capacitors that return
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Main Vision Manual 39

very low measured signals, Vision provides tools to characterize and remove tester para-
sitic capacitance contributions to the data.

Simplified Hysteresis Measurement Sequence
The Hysteresis - or PE (Polarization Vs Field) - measurement is the primary non-linear charac-
terization measurement made, within Vision, by the Precision Tester. Several measurements are
derived directly from the Hysteresis measurement. In Vision, the basic Hysteresis measurement
is performed using the Hysteresis Task. This is a discussion of the process involved in making
the Hysteresis measurement. This discussion is heavily simplified.

1. The measurement begins with the user configuring the Task's measurement parameters (Fig-
ure 6).

Figure 6 - Hysteresis Task Basic Configuration
There are a large number of configuration options. However, the main parameters to configure
are:

*Task Name - The Task will be permanently archived under this name. It is important to
assign a unique and meaningful Task Name.
*Max Voltage - This value will be used to define the DRIVE voltage profile as discussed
below. A bipolar triangular voltage profile will be applied with peaks at ±Max Volt-

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Main Vision Manual 40

age.
*Period (ms) - This value will be used to define the DRIVE voltage profile as discussed
below. This is the duration of the DRIVE voltage profile sweep in milliseconds. It is
equivalent to 1000/Frequency (Hz).
*Sample Area (cm2) - The surface area, in cm2, of the smaller of the two sample elec-
trodes. The sample charge (µC) response to the DRIVE Voltage will be normalized
by this term to generate the standard non-linear sample response parameter of Polari-
zation (µC/cm2).
*Sample Thickness (µm) - This is the depth, in microns, of the ferroelectric material be-
tween the sample electrodes. This is primarily a documentation parameter. However,
it is integral in the DRIVE signal strength calculation if data are to be plotted as a
function of electric field (kV/cm).
*Enable Reference Ferroelectric and Cap A Enable - Checking these controls for the
purpose of this discussion switches a built-in Radiant Technologies, Inc. 4/20/80
PNZT sample into the signal path for measurement.

The next several steps refer to Figure 7.

Figure 7 - Hysteresis Task Measurement Sofware and Hardware
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Main Vision Manual 41

Signals.
2. On execution, Vision creates a list of voltages that form a single bipolar triangular wave-
form between -Max Voltage and +Max Voltage Volts. The list is a series of discrete, real-
valued voltages with a fixed voltage step magnitude between each list entry. The number of
entries (points) in the list is the maximum number that can be applied give the voltage step
size, the delay between each step (Period (ms)/points), the tester model capability and, pos-
sibly, the user-programmed upper limit.
3. Vision converts the voltage list into a second, binary list, whose entries are recognized by
the tester circuitry as voltage commands.
4. Vision passes the binary voltage list, along with a binary representation of the Period (ms),
the number of sample point and the amplification level to the Vision Driver. Note that, to
the user, the Vision Driver is indistinguishable from the Vision program.
5. Through the Windows USB Driver, the Vision host computer USB port and the tester USB
port, the driver switches in the assigned amplification level. (See the discussion below.)
6. The Vision Driver passes the voltage list and a step delay through the Windows USB Driv-
er, the Vision host computer USB port and the Precision tester USB port, to the tester's
Digital-To-Analog Converter (DAC). The step delay (ms) is given by Period (ms)/(Points -
1)
7. The DAC converts the command to a voltage and passes the signal, through the tester
DRIVE port, to the Sample Under Test.
8. The DAC also passes the voltage to an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) that converts
the actual voltage out back to a digital word. The ADC passes the digital word back,
through the Windows USB Driver to the Vision Driver.
9. The sample responds to the voltage applied at one electrode by moving charge onto or off
of the opposite electrode.
10. The charge (µC) moved by the sample enters the tester RETURN port.
11. The charge (µC) enters an amplification stage where the current amplifier selection either
amplifies or deamplifies the signal.
12. The amplified/deamplified signal enters the integrators where it is integrated with all previ-
ous charge captured in the measurement.
13. The voltage out of the integrator, which is directly proportional to the charge (µC) generat-
ed by the tester, is converted to a digital value by an ADC and passed to the Vision Driver.
14. If enabled, one or two voltages, in the ±10.0-Volt range can be captured at the tester SEN-
SOR 1 and/or SENSOR 2 port simultaneously with the integrator output capture. These are
converted to a digital value by an ADC and passed to the Vision Driver.
15. The Vision Driver bundles the DRIVE voltage output data, the Charge Integrator output
voltage data and, if enabled, the SENSOR 1 and/or SENSOR 2 data and passes them back
to Vision.
16. Vision converts the digital data from the driver back to meaningful voltages.
17. Vision converts the Charge Integrator voltage to charge (µC) data and normalizes the data
by the Sample Area (cm2) to generate Polarization (µC/cm2) data.
18. Vision archives the data, passes them to any Filter Tasks that may be associates with the
Hysteresis Task and produces a data plot.
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Main Vision Manual 42

Figure 8 - 9.0-Volt/10.0 ms Internal Reference Ferroelectric Hyste-
resis Measurement.

Hysteresis DRIVE Voltage Profile

DRIVE Profile Options
The Hysteresis Task offers many DRIVE Voltage Profile options. Eleven automatic profiles and
a custom profile are offered. In addition any profile may be shifted vertically by specifying a
Hyst Bias. The user can completely specify a DRIVE Profile by selecting a DRIVE Profile Type,
assigning a Max Voltage, specifying the Period (ms) and, perhaps, assigning a Hyst Bias. The
period is the duration of the entire DRIVE profile in milliseconds. For bipolar profiles this is

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Main Vision Manual 43

equivalent to 1000 / Frequency (Hz) => Frequency (Hz) = 1000 / Period (ms). For double-
bipolar profiles, the factor is 2000 and for monopolar sequences the factor is 500. A final com-
plexity is that the profile strength and offset may be specified in units of Electric Field (kV/cm).
Here, Electric Field (kV/cm) is given by:

Electric Field (kV/cm) = Voltage / (1000 V/kV x Sample Thickness (µm) x 10-4 cm/µm) (1)

This option is selected by checking Specify Profile Max Field (kV/cm) on the configuration dia-
log. In this case dialog controls are relabeled Max Voltage => Max Field (kV/cm) and Hyst Bias
(V) => Hyst Bias (kV/cm).

Figure 9 - Hysteresis Configuration - Specify Electric Field (kV/cm).
Figure 10 shows two profile options. The figure is generated by clicking the Profile Preview
button on the configuration dialog.

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Figure 10 - Example Hysteresis DRIVE Profiles.
Example DRIVE Profile
Each DRIVE Profile is composed of a sequence of discrete real-valued voltages. While the user
completely specifies the profile with a DRIVE Profile Type selection, Max Voltage, Period (ms)
and possibly Hyst Bias (V), the program takes these parameters and constructs the voltage list.
For this example the default "Standard Bipolar" DRIVE Profile Type will be used with a Max
Voltage of 10.0 V and a 10.0 ms Period (ms). Hyst Bias (V) is 0.0 V. The first point in the list is
always 0.0 V. (The Hyst Bias (V) parameter is passed separately to the driver).

Figure 11 - 10.0-Volt/10.0 ms Standard Bipolar Hysteresis Profile.
The Standard Bipolar profile starts at 0.0 V, rises linearly to +10.0 V, then falls linearly at the
same rate to -10.0 V before rising again to a final value of 0.0 V. Note that the total magnitude
of the voltage traversed is 4 x 10.0 V = 40.0 V.

The program begins by determining the number of points over which to space the voltages in the
list. The number of points specified is the maximum possible number (always the highest-
precision) given several conditions:

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• Tester Model - Precision LC and RT66B testers have a maximum point count of 500
pts. The Precision RT66C and all Precision testers older than 2014 have a 2000-point
limit. All other testers have a 32,000-point limit.
• The user-specified point ceiling (see below).
• The measurement Period (ms) related to the minimum step time of the tester model
being used. (See tester specifications for a particular model.) This parameter can ad-
just the point count downward for very fast measurements.
• The measurement Max Voltage related to the minimum voltage step of the tester
model being used. (See tester specifications for a particular model.) This parameter
can adjust the point count downward for very low-voltage measurements.

The DRIVE Profile list always begins and ends at 0.0 Volts. (Any Hyst Bias (V) is passed sepa-
rately to the Vision Driver and applied to the waveform there.) For the Standard Bipolar profile
of this example, each voltage is determined by incrementing or decrementing the previous volt-
age by a fixed magnitude of (4 x Max Voltage)/(Points - 1). For a 20001-point waveform this
step voltage is given as (4 x 10)/20000 = 0.002 V. Figure 12 shows a partial list of the example
DRIVE Profile voltages at 20001 points. This list was generated from the results of an actual
measurement. The data do not represent the DRIVE Profile voltages requested by Vision. They
represent the actual DRIVE voltages that were applied at each sample point as discussed in Step
9 of Simplified Hysteresis Measurement Sequence, above.

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Figure 12 - Hysteresis Standard Bipolar Partial Point Sequence,
Sample Time (ms) and Sample Voltage List.

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Figure 12 also lists the sample time (ms) for each point relative to the first-captured point. The
sample time is captured by the driver at the time of the measurement. The list should increment
time (ms) by a constant value that is very close to the ideal time of Period (ms)/(Points - 1).
Here, 10.0 ms / 20000 = 0.0005 ms. The actual DRIVE Voltage, Charge (µC), Sample Time
(ms), SENSOR 1 voltage and SENSOR 2 voltage parameters are captured at each point after the
voltage at that point has been stable for the constant period.

Figure 13 - Zoomed DRIVE Profile After Sample Measurement.
In Figure 13, the DRIVE Profile represents actual measured DRIVE Voltage and Step Delay
(ms) data. These differ from the ideal data of Figure 11.

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Main Vision Manual 49

User-Specified Voltage Ceiling
With the exception of the Precision RT66C tester, all Precision model testers released since 2014
are capable of generating up to 32,000-point Hysteresis measurements. The Precision RT66C has
an upper limit of 2000 points. (These numbers are approximate. The actual limit is somewhat
higher.) Vision will always build the DRIVE Profile voltage waveform using the maximum
number of points given the test conditions. For most testers the user can specify and upper bound
on that number of points. To set the limit, go to Tools->Options->Measurement and Test Defini-
tion Execution and adjust the selection in Hysteresis-Based Task Point Limit. The selection be-
comes permanent between Vision program executions until it is changed.

Figure 14 - User-Specified Hysteresis Profile Point Limit.
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Main Vision Manual 50

Amplification Levels
The sample charge (µC) response to the DRIVE stimulus voltage is captured by the integrating
circuit at the Precision tester RETURN port after passing through a variable amplification stage.
The output of the amplifier/input to the integrator is in the ±5.0-Volt range A quality measure-
ment will have a peak amplifier output that is within 5% and 95% the output range (±0.25 to
±4.75 Volts). If the signal is outside this range, then the amplification should be adjusted to boost
or reduce the signal into the range. The user has three options for setting the amplification level:

1. Manual Amplification: Auto Amplification is unchecked and an appropriate RETURN
Signal Amplification Level is selected. In this option a single measurement will be made
at the amplification level selected by the user and the data returned regardless of the qual-
ity. An improperly-selected amplification level may show data that are saturated (level
too high) or very noisy (level too low). If the amplification level is too far out-of-range,
the measurement may return an error. Note that a saturated measurement could not be
made for Figure 15 without generating an error.

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Figure 15 - Results of Manual Amplification Settings.
2. Auto Amplification - Start at RETURN Signal Amplification Level: Auto Amplification is
checked, Start with Last Amp Value is unchecked and the initial amplification level is se-

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Main Vision Manual 52

lected in RETURN Signal Amplification Level. In this case the driver sets the amplifica-
tion level to the value selected in RETURN Signal Amplification Level. A measurement is
made and the returned integrated charge (µC) data are examined. If the data are outside
of the 5% to 95% range the amplification level is adjusted one step up or one step down
and the measurement is repeated. The process is repeated until a correct measurement is
detected. If the number of amplification levels is exhausted before finding the correct
level, an error is returned.

Figure 16 - Results of Auto-Amplification/Specific Initial Am-

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Main Vision Manual 53

plification Level.
3. Auto Amplification - Start at last valid amplification level: Auto Amplification is
checked, Start with Last Amp Value is checked. This is very similar to option 2. Howev-
er, instead of starting at the amplification level specified in RETURN Signal Amplifica-
tion Level Vision sets the initial amplification level to the final amplification level of the
last previous valid measurement. Once again, a measurement is made and the returned in-
tegrated charge (µC) data are examined. If the data are outside of the 5% to 95% range
the amplification level is adjusted one step up or one step down and the measurement is
repeated. The process is repeated until a correct measurement is detected. If the number
of amplification levels is exhausted before finding the correct level, an error is returned.

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Figure 17 - Results of Auto Amplification/Start at Last Valid
Amplification level.

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Tester Operation

This section of the Main Vision Manual address common Precision Tester operation, making
sample measurements using the Precision tester alone. Move-involved measurement such as
high-voltage, piezo-electric or magneto-electric measurements are addressed in other sections.
Note that the measurement voltage using a tester alone is limited in Vision software to ±500.0
Volts. However, the maximum voltage that may be applied without returning a measurement er-
ror depends on the tester model. Models are available with voltage ranges of ±10.0 V, ±30.0 V,
±100.0 V, ±200.0 V and 500 V.

Vision Startup
On startup, Vision will detect any tester that is connected to the Vision host computer and pow-
ered provided the tester has been correctly installed on the host computer as in Tester Installa-
tion. Vision will also detect any I2C accessories connected to the tester. Discussion of any such
accessory is beyond the scope of this topic.

When the program opens, the detected tester will be displayed in the Tester Selection dialog. If
no tester is detected, the dialog will show "No Tester Attached". The dialog displays the tester's
name and type. The name may be changed in the dialog and written back to the tester EEPROM.

Figure 1 - The Tester Selection Dialog Appears on Vision Startup.

When the Tester Selection dialog is closed the user will be prompted to remove any connection
from the tester DRIVE port to begin a calibration. Note that for rack=mounted testers with rear-
panel DRIVE port connections to other instruments, removing the DRIVE connection is not crit-
ical. Close the prompt to enter a brief calibration period. The calibration period is indicated by
the presence of the Stop Measure Ramp Offsets? button. When the button disappears the calibra-
tion is complete and Vision is in its idle state.

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Figure 2 - Tester Calibration Period.
Hardware Refresh
Any time there is a hardware change within Vision, a Hardware Refresh must be performed to
cause Vision to redetect all connected hardware. For example if Vision is started with the Preci-
sion tester turned off, when the tester is turned on a Hardware Refresh must be performed. Like-
wise, if an I2C accessory is connected or disconnected (powered on or off) Vision must be noti-
fied through a Hardware Refresh. To initiate a Hardware Refresh, select Tools->Hardware Re-
fresh. Or simply press <Alt-W>. Vision will detect the connected Precision tester and any con-
nected I2C accessories. The startup procedures of Figures 1 and 2 will be reiterated.

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Figure 3 - Hardware Refresh.

Tester Connections
Connecting the Precision tester to a sample to be measured is largely at the user's discretion.
Figure 4 shows the tester connections to a commercial linear capacitor using the minigrabber
connections. The basic rule is that the DRIVE port, that carries the voltage signal is connected to
one sample electrode. The zero-Volt RETURN port is connected to the opposite electrode. Con-
nections make be to probe pins, clips, sample holders, etc. Use of devices such as the minigrab-
bers shown is not recommended. These offer no signal shielding. Generally both DRIVE and
RETURN connections should be through shielded BNC cables. If the connections are to be made
to a sample with electrodes of differing sizes, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this dis-
cussion, it is recommended that the DRIVE signal be attached to the larger electrode. For exam-
ple, on a wafer with many samples defined by small top electrodes, the DRIVE should be applied
to the common bottom electrode while the RETURN signal is taken from the single-sample top
electrode. Note that connections between the Precision tester and the sample are identical if they

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Main Vision Manual 58

are taken from the tester's front-panel or rear-panel DRIVE and RETURN ports. These ports are
electrically identical between the front and back of the tester.

Figure 4 - Basis Sample Connection to a Precision Tester.
For basic measurements there are only two other important connections:

• The AC Power connection may be between 110 and 240 Volts at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. What is
critical is that the middle pin of the power cable be connected to a solid and stable earth
ground. Damage to the tester will occur if a solid ground is not available at the wall sock-
et.
• The green banana connector at the tester rear panel represents a connection to the tester's
chassis and, by extension, to earth ground. This connector must be attached to any other
equipment in the experiment. This might include a High-Voltage Interface (HVI), a High-
Voltage Amplifier (HVA), a CS 2.5 Current Source, external waveform generators, etc. It
should also be connected to any metal in the experiment. This might include the rack in
which the tester is mounted, any metal tables, a probe station, etc.

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Main Vision Manual 59

Figure 5 - Critical Precision Tester Grounding Point.

Making Measurements
Precision tester measurements are made using Vision Measurement Tasks. A large array of
Measurement Tasks is available. But, in general, the Tasks specify these common parameters:

• Task Name: All Tasks include a Task Name. This does not relate directly to the meas-
urement. However, the Task is permanently archived in Vision under this name. For doc-
umentary purposes and identification of the Task in the Archive. It is very important to
assign a unique and meaningful Task Name. Up to 60 characters may be assigned. This
allows for detailed description.
• Sample Area (cm2): This value documents the sample under test. It is also use to normal-
ize the measured charge (µC) to generate the measured polarization (µC/cm2) data.
• Sample Thickness (µm): This also documents the sample under test. It may be used if the
user intends to specify the DRIVE signal strength and/or plot data in units of Electric
Field (kV/cm). The conversion is:

Electric Field (kV/cm) = Voltage / (1000 V/kV x Sample Thickness (µm) x 10-4 cm/µm) (1)

• One or more maximum DRIVE voltages: Each Measurement will stimulate the sample
with a voltage through the DRIVE port. In general there are two types of stimulus. Pulse-
type Tasks cause the DRIVE port to step directly to the assigned maximum voltage with
the ramp to voltage defined by the tester model - generally 40 ns. Hysteresis-type Tasks
ramp to the maximum voltage over a series of intermediate steps. There are representative
Tasks in either type that may make repeated measurements, in an execution, of inde-
pendently-varying maxima.
• Some form of measurement time: For Pulse-type Tasks the measurement time is defined
as a Pulse Width (ms). This is the time between the beginning of the rise to voltage and
the signal sampling. For Hysteresis-type Tasks a Period (ms) is defined and represents the
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time over which the complete measurement cycle occurs.
• Amplification level specification: In all Measurement Tasks the sample charge (µC) re-
sponse to the DRIVE port stimulus voltage is captured at the tester RETURN port and
passed to an integrator for detection. Before being passed to the integrator the charge is
amplified or deamplified by a Transimpedance Amplifier that has various selectable
gains. In manual mode, the user selects a specific amplification level and the measure-
ment is made at that level. The data are returned regardless of the quality. If the amplifi-
cation level is too high, the integrator will be over-driven and the Task will return an er-
ror. If it is too low, the data may be very noisy. In automatic amplification the measure-
ment is made at an initial amplification level. The software then evaluates the return data
and, if the data are too strong or two weak, the amplification level is decremented or in-
cremented one level and the measurement is repeated. The process continues until the da-
ta are within an acceptable range. If the proper amplification level cannot be isolated, the
Task returns an error.

For much more detail on measurement parameters and, especially, amplification levels, please
see the preceding Tester Theory topic.

Figure 6 - Pulse-Type DRIVE Profile

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Figure 7 - Hysteresis-Type Drive Profile
Procedure
Configure the Measurement Task

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Figure 8 - Configure the Hysteresis Task.
Execute the Measurement Task:

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Figure 9 - Hysteresis Task Measured Data.

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Main Vision Manual 64

Mitigating 50 Hz/60 Hz Noise

Environmental noise is a factor in all measurement. Environmental noise is introduced by the
physical configuration and location of the experiment. The noise is highly dependent on the
strength of the charge signal (µC) returned by the sample. Noise generally produces a very small
signal that becomes less and less relevant as the measured sample signal grows. There are gener-
ally two types of noise:

• Random noise can be mitigated by making repeated measurements and averaging them.
Passing a smoothing filter over a single measurement will also reduce noise. Vision is
equipped to perform both types of noise reduction.
• Period noise is normally introduced by one or more electrical sources and will normally
have a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz depending on the laboratory's power source. This
noise cannot be mitigated by post-processing the data. It must be mitigated before the
measurement. This section will present guidelines for mitigating periodic noise.

Figure 1 shows the effects of 60 Hz noise on a Hysteresis measurement of a 1.0 nF commercial
linear capacitor. The measurement was made at 0.5 Volts to reduce the charge signal and en-
hance the noise. The sample was connected to the tester DRIVE and RETURN ports using
minigrabbers that have no shielding. The minigrabbers were wound around the Precision tester's
AC power cord to ensure the introduction of the noise.

Since the noise is of a constant frequency, its effect is dependent on the speed of the measure-
ment. In the figure a 100.0 ms (10 Hz) signal clearly shows the 60 Hz noise. It is easy to demon-
strate that the period of the noise is 1000/60 = ~17 ms. The figure also shows a 1000.0 ms meas-
urement and a 0.1 ms measurement. The 1000.0 ms measurement is especially noisy because it
contains 60 full cycles. The 0.1 ms measurement is significantly shorter than one full cycles of
the noise. It shows no effects from the 60 Hz environmental noise. In all figures the polarization
(µC/cm2) data are plotted as a function of time to demonstrate the periodicity of the noise.

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Figure 1 - Influence of 60 Hz Environmental Noise.
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Figure 2 shows a 10.0-Volt/1000.0 ms measurement under the same physical test conditions.
With a strong sample charge (µC) signal the 60 Hz noise is barely evident.

Figure 2 - Strong Sample Charge (µC) Signal Reduces the Effects of
the 60 Hz Noise.
Mitigation
Period noise must be addressed before the measurement occurs. If such noise is entering the data,

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Main Vision Manual 67

the following steps are recommended to help mitigate it:

• Make DRIVE and RETURN signal cables as short as possible.
• Keep DRIVE and RETURN signal cables as far as possible from the AC power cables
connected to the equipment. In particular be sure that DRIVE and RETURN cables do
not cross over power cables.
• Use only coaxial (BNC) DRIVE and RETURN cables. For example, the minigrabbers
[short red and black cables with clips] that we provide with the system have BNC con-
nectors, but do not provide coaxial shielding.
• Make sure that the tester is firmly grounded at the green rear-panel banana plug to any
other equipment in the experiment (High-Voltage Interface, Amplifier, Current Source,
etc.).
• Make sure that the tester is firmly grounded to any metal components in the experiment
(tables, probe stations, shelving, equipment racks, etc.).
• Turn off as much other equipment in the lab as possible. especially equipment with rotat-
ing motors - fans, etc.
• Turn off the overhead fluorescent lamps if possible.
• Above all, ensure that the ground connector of the AC power cables is connected to a sol-
id earth ground.

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Main Vision Manual 68

High-Voltage Setup and Operation

Standing alone, the maximum DRIVE voltage output of a tester depends on the model pur-
chased. Models are available with ±10.0-Volt, ±30.0-Volt, ±100.0-Volt, ±200.0-Volt or ±500.0-
Volt internal amplifiers. The Vision program will allow for up to ±500.0 Volts to be pro-
grammed without special configuration. With the addition of accessory hardware, the Precision
tester can be made to apply DRIVE signals of up to ±10,000.0 Volts.

Signals above ±500.0 Volts are not generated by the Precision tester, but by an external High-
Voltage Amplifier (HVA). The Precision tester applies a low-voltage model of the intended
DRIVE voltage that is amplified by a fixed gain factor by the HVA. The high-voltage output of
the HVA is then applied to the sample. Figure 1 shows the front and rear panels of a Trek Model
609B 10 kV amplifier. The tester may drive any model amplifier provided the amplifier charac-
teristics (output-to-input gain ratio, slew rate, maximum current, etc.) are made available to Ra-
diant Technologies, Inc. (See more detail below.) The Trek Model 609B amplifier is the most
common amplifier and is often bundled into Precision tester purchases.

Figure 1 - Trek Model 609B ±10 kV High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA).
Signals are not passed directly between the Precision tester and the High-Voltage Amplifier.
Note, in particular, that the tester is not capable of inputting or outputting a signal greater than
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Main Vision Manual 69

±500.0 Volts. Instead signals are passed through a Radiant Technologies' accessory High-
Voltage Interface (HVI). The HVI serves as a protection device for equipment, the sample under
test and people. It detects dangerous fault conditions and halts low-voltage input into the HVA
and high-voltage output. In particular, if the sample shorts the high-voltage HV DRIVE signal
from one electrode to the zero-Volt HV RETURN signal the high-voltage RETURN condition is
detected and the signals are immediately halted. The HVI then returns an error to the Measure-
ment Task. Figure 2 shows the HVI front and rear panels.

Figure 2 - Radiant Technologies' Precision High-Voltage Interface
(HVI).
The Radiant Precision HVI has passed through several generations. These include:

• Early versions that require parallel-port logic communications. These are still supported
by all testers except the RT66B and RT66C.
• Two-channel versions that could connect two separate amplifiers to be switched in soft-
ware. These are also still supported.
• Versions that required an external EEPROM ID Module that contained logical infor-
mation regarding the High-Voltage Amplifier specifications. This information is required
by Vision to properly construct the HVA low-voltage input signal.

Modern HVIs are single-channel and use an I2C bus to conduct logical communication. They
also contain the amplifier specifications internally and can be reprogrammed, by the user, for any
amplifier that is known to Radiant Technologies, Inc. The list of known amplifiers can be ex-
tended simply by present the manufacturer name, model number and specifications to Radiant
Technologies, Inc.

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Main Vision Manual 70

The remainder of this document will concern itself only with the most-current revision of the
High-Voltage Interface.

Equipment Setup
Figures 3 and 4 duplicate the front- and rear-panel images of Figures 1 and 2. In this case the
figures are annotated with a description of each of the connectors on the accessories.

Figure 3 - Trek Model 609B ±10 kV High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA)
with Annotated Connectors.

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Main Vision Manual 71

Figure 4 - Radiant Technologies' Precision High-Voltage Interface
(HVI) with Annotated Connectors
Figure 5 shows a map of the connections between the Precision tester and the Precision HVI
and between the HVI and the HVA.

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Main Vision Manual 72

Figure 5 - High-Voltage Hookup.
Table 1 details the connections in Figure 5.

Cable From Cable To Type Figure Discussion
Color
Tester Vision Host Printer- Orange This cable carries tester and accessory logic to the Vision host
"USB"/ "USB"/ style USB computer. It carries hardware signal commands from the host
Vision Host Tester "USB" computer to the tester. It carries measurement data from the
"USB" tester to the Vision host computer.
HVI "I2C" Tester "I2C" I2C Grey This cable carries logical information about the HVI to the test-
(Similar to er. It also carries information about the HVA, that is embedded
telephone) in the HVI, to the Precision tester.
Tester HVI "System BNC Light A low-voltage signal to be amplified by the HVA to generate
"DRIVE" DRIVE" Blue the intended high-voltage signal. This signal is passed through
the HVI "Amp Stimulus" port to the HVA "AMP INPUT" port.
HVI Tester BNC Light The sample charge (µC/cm2) response to the high-voltage stim-
"System "RETURN" Blue ulus. This signal is passed directly from the HVI front-panel
RETURN" "HV RETURN" port through the HVI to the tester "RETURN"
port.
HVI " Tester "H.V. BNC Light A low-voltage representation of the actual high-voltage signal
System HV MON" Blue generated by the HVA. This is passed from the HVA "MONI-
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MONITOR TOR" port through the HVI "Amp Monitor" port. This is passed
to Vision to be used as the actual applied voltage.
Tester HVI Banana Green This connection connects the chassis of all three instruments to
"Ground" "GROUND" a common earth ground. It should also be connected to any oth-
er instruments in teh experiment as well as any metal compo-
nents including mounting racks, cabinets, tables, probe stations,
etc.
HVI HVA Ground Banana Green This connection connects the chassis of all three instruments to
"GROUND" (Unlabeled) a common earth ground. It should also be connected to any oth-
er instruments in teh experiment as well as any metal compo-
nents including mounting racks, cabinets, tables, probe stations,
etc.
HVI "Amp HVA "AMP BNC-to- Dark This is the low voltage signal into the HVA input. It is the sig-
Stimulus" INPUT" Trek Input Blue nal that is amplified by a fixed gain factor to generate the in-
tended high-voltage HV DRIVE signal to stimulate the sample.
This signal is passed directly from the tester "DRIVE" port,
through the HVI "System DRIVE" port and out the "Amp
Stimulus" port to the amplifier. The amplifier-end connector
will differ depending on amplifier manufacturer and model. The
HVA labeling may also differ.
HVA HVA "Amp BND Light A low-voltage representation of the high-voltage output of the
"MONI- Monitor" Blue HVA. The amplifier generates this signal and passes it through
TOR" the HVI "Amp Monitor" and "System HV MONITOR" ports to
the tester "H.V. MON" port. The tester passes this voltage to
Vision to be used to represent the actual applied voltage.
HVA "HV HVI "Amp Insulated Red This is the amplfier's high-voltage output that is stimulated by
OUT" HIGH High- the low-voltage stimulus input at the HVA "AMP INPUT" port.
VOLTAGE" Voltage It is passed through the HVA rear-panel "Amp HIGH VOLT-
Cable AGE" port through to the front-panel "HV DRIVE" port and
out to the sample.

Connecting to a sample.
The Radiant High-Voltage Bundle comes with several red 10 kV cables that have a rubber high-
voltage sleeve to provide more than 10 kV isolation. Cables come with connectors for the High-
Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF) or HVDM/HVDM II High-Voltage Displacement Meter. Untermi-
nated cables are also provided to allow the user complete flexibility in connecting to the sample.

Connections between the High-Voltage Interface (HVI) and the sample are largely at the user's
discretion. The basic connections are between the HVI "HV DRIVE" port and one sample elec-
trode and between the opposite electrode and the HVI "HV RETURN" port.

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Figure 6 - High-Voltage Connections Between the HVI and the
Sample.
Radiant offers a number of accessories to apply high-voltage to bulk ceramics:

• High-Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF): This is a bare-bones cylindrical test fixture that
accepts the HVI HV DRIVE signal at one port (normally the bottom port) and con-
nects the sample response to the HVI HV RETURN at the other (top) port. The sam-
ple is completely contained within the test fixture. The test fixture provides a fixed
bottom electrode to contact the sample bottom electrode and a floating top electrode
whose height adjusts to accommodate the sample thickness. It makes electrical con-
tact to the top sample electrode through the force of gravity. The sample is in a reser-
voir that may be filled with mineral oil, or other fine oil, to prevent high-voltage arc-
ing through air around the sample. The Teflon test fixture may be placed in an oven
and heated to a maximum of 230° C. (As discussed elsewhere in this manual, Vision
may control the oven provided it is a model that is known to Vision.)

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Main Vision Manual 75

Figure 7 - High-Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF).
• High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM): This accessory augments the basic
HVTF by adding hardware that allows the test fixture to include a Philtec displace-
ment detection wand for customers who are measuring displacement of high-voltage
bulk piezoelectric samples. The basic test fixture is identical to the HVTF and all
properties discussed above apply. In addition a stability arm is positioned over the top
of the test fixture and connected to a micrometer that allows for precise vertical posi-
tioning. The stability arm has a hole that is exactly centered over the floating top elec-
trode of the test meter. Friction sleeves placed in the hole allow Philtec detection
wands to be held firmly and exactly vertically above the electrode to detect vertical
motion of the electrode as the sample responds piezo-electrically to the DRIVE volt-
age. The Philtec detection wand is a fiber bundle that operate by detecting changes in
the angle of deflection of light reflected from the electrode surface. A family of fric-
tion sleeves allows a variety of diameters of detection wands to be used.

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Main Vision Manual 77

Figure 8 - High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM).
• High-Temperature High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM II): In this accessory
the design of the HVDM is further extended by including internal heating of the sam-
ple contained in the HVDM II. The HVDM II includes a heating lamp and on-board
electronic control of temperature (°C) and temperature ramp rate (°C/min.). The Vi-
sion program provides complete control of the HVDM II through a USB channel. The
HVDM II must be connect to a USB port the the Vision host computer that is separate
from the tester port.

Two enhancements are planned for this instrument:

• Auto-calibration: Each time the temperature settles at the set point, the Philtec
displacement detector must have its position and return voltage strength recali-
brated. In the current model this must be done manually by the user. A model is
being designed that will automatically calibrate the detection system.
• Very high-temperature: A model of this test fixture is planned that will offer
much higher temperatures than the 230 °C limit of the current model.

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Main Vision Manual 78

Figure 9 - Heated High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM II)
Front View.

Figure 10 - Heated High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM II)
Rear View.
• High-Temperature Test Fixture (HTTF): This is a small family of test fixture that are
designed to operate at much higher temperatures than the HVDM II. These test fix-
tures are made of Macor and with nickel electrical connections. Macor is a fragile ce-
ramic that has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion. The test fixtures are very
simple and are designed for use in a tube furnace or oven. The sample is placed on a
nickel disk that serves as the electrical connection for the sample's bottom electrode.
A nickel probe is lowered onto the top electrode. Electrical connections are made to
nickel bolts with wingnuts. Macor "cables" (known as "straws") are provided to ex-
tend the electrical connections outside of the furnace or oven.

Figure 11 shows test fixtures intended for 3" and 4" tube furnaces. The 4" version al-
so has a test chuck that can allow it to be inserted into a 6" furnace. (This is not
shown.) A test stand, with Macor standoffs, allow the 6" chuck to be lifted off the
metal floor of a furnace to prevent high-voltage arcing to the furnace.

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Figure 11 - 3" and 4" High-Temperature Test Fixtures (HTTF).
Vision Control of High-Voltage Measurements
Depending on tester model, up to ±500.0 Volts may be applied to a sample without requiring an
HVI/HVA pair. Vision limits programming of any measurement to ±500.0 Volts unless a high-
voltage measurement is specified. Each Hardware Task has a pair of controls labeled Set Ampli-
fier and Amplifier. Amplifier is a read-only indicator of the status of the selected amplifier. It will
indicate "Internal" or "High-Voltage". with "Internal" displayed, a maximum of ±500.0 Volts
may be programmed. With "High Voltage" in the Amplifier control the maximum is adjusted to
±10,000.00 Volts. To switch between the two, click the Set Amplifier button. A subdialog opens
that allows the internal or accessory HVA to be selected as the amplifier.

With Internal Voltage Source selected, External High Voltage is not selected. HVI Channel is
forced to a value of '0' and disabled. When the dialog is closed, Amplifier will show "Internal"
and Max Voltage will be limited to ±500.0 Volts. With External High-Voltage checked, Internal
Voltage Source is unchecked. HVI Channel is set to '1' and enabled. It may also be set to '2', but
this is very rare. It may only be set to '2' for older two-channel HVIs that have a HVA connected
to their second channel. When a late-model HVI, that does not require an external HVA ID
Module, is detected, Set/Change Selected Amplifier is enabled. This button opens a subdialog
(not shown) that can be used to change the selected HVA provided the HVA model has been
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Main Vision Manual 80

programmed for inclusion in the subdialog. When the subdialog is closed Amplifier with show
"High Voltage" and Max Voltage will have a limit of ±10,000.0 Volts.

Figure 12 - Internal Low-Voltage/External High-Voltage Configura-
tion.
Much more complete information regarding high-voltage measurement configuration and execu-
tion can be found in the Task Instructions for individual Tasks or in the Tutoral VII - High-
Voltage Operations pages of this manual.

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Main Vision Manual 81

Magneto-Electric Setup and Operation

Magneto-Electric Measurement Process and Procedures.
In the magneto-electric measurement, the Vision program and Precision tester is used to generate
a voltage profile that is scaled to an intended magnetic profile. The magnetic profile, generated
in a Helmholtz coil, induces a charge (µC) response in the sample that is captured at the Preci-
sion tester RETURN port and passed back to the Vision program.

A simplified diagram of the experiment and its signals is given in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Simplified Magneto-Electric Experiment Configuration
and Signals.
The process proceeds as:

1. Vision generates a voltage profile that is linearly scaled to produce the intended magnetic
field. The field generated is given by:

(1)

Conversely, the DRIVE Voltage to be applied is determined by:

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Main Vision Manual 82

(2)

2. Vision passes the current DRIVE voltage through the Vision Driver and the Precision
Tester DRIVE port to the Current Amplifier Voltage In port.
3. The Current Amplifier converts the Voltage In to a Current Out that is related to the
Voltage in by the Current Amplifier A/V ratio.
4. The Current Amplifier converts the current out to a voltage model of the current out that
is passed from the Current Amplifier Current Monitor port through the Precision Tester
SENSOR 1 port to the Vision Driver. This model will have its own V/A ratio.
5. The Current Amplifier Current Out is passed to Helmholtz Coil input, through the coil
and through the Helmholtz Coil output ot the Current Amplifier Current In Port.
6. The current through the Helmholtz Coil induces a magnetic field (G) this is related to the
current through the Helmholtz Coil by the coil's G/A ratio.
7. The magnetic field (G) of the Helmholtz Coil induces a charge (µC) response n the Sam-
ple Under Test that is passed through the Precision Tester RETURN port to the Vision
Driver.
8. A Magnetic Field Detector generates an output voltage that is linearly related to the mag-
netic field by the detector's V/G ratio. The output voltage is passed through the Precision
Tester SENSOR 2 port to the Vision driver.
9. The Vision Driver passes the actual DRIVE voltage vector, the integrated RETURN
charge (µC) data, and the SENSOR 1 and SENSOR 2 voltages.
10. Vision converts, stores and plots the following data:

• Integrated RETURN Port Voltage -> charge (µC) -> Polarization (µC/cm2)
• Actual DRIVE Voltage -> Estimated Applied Field by Equation (1).
• SENSOR 1 Voltage -> Estimated Applied Field by:

Magnetic Field (G) = SENSOR 1 Voltage x 1/(Amplifier Current Monitor V/A ratio) x Helm-
holtz Coil A/G ratio. (3)

• SENSOR 2 Voltage -> Actual Applied Field by:

Magnetic Field (G) = SENSOR 2 Voltage x 1/(Magnetic Detector G/V ratio). (4)

Magneto-Electric Measurement Instruments.
Any current amplifier may serve in Figure 1, provided an appropriate current output (±2 A) is
within the amplifier's limitations. Early editions of the Magneto-Electric Bundle included ship-
ment of the Kepco BO 36 Voltage/current amplifier. The amplifier did not include the "Current
Monitor" port of Figure 1. Instead, a Radiant Technologies RCSi Current Sensor (not shown)
was included in the current signal path between the Kepco amplifier and the Helmholtz coil in-
put. The output of the RCSi was passed to the Precision Tester SENSOR 1 port.

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Figure 2 - Kepco BOP 36 Current Amplifier and Connections.
Modern distributions of the Magneto-Electric Test Bundle include the Radiant Technologies,
Inc. CS 2.5 Current Source (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Radiant Technologies, Inc. CS 2.5 Current Source and

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Main Vision Manual 84

Connections.
The Magneto-Electric Test Bundle includes a Lakeshore MH-6 Helmholtz Coil. This is a 6" coil
that generates approximately 26.0 Gauss/Amp. The exact G/A ratio is labeled on the coil.

Figure 4 - Lakeshore MH-6 Helmholtz Coil.
To provide complete services for holding a sample and making electrical contact to it, Radiant
Technologies offers a copper shield box and attached fingerboard. The shield box is transparent
to the magnetic field. But it is impenetrable to environmental electrical noise such as 50 Hz/60
Hz signals. Sample response to the magnetic field is often in units of picoCoulombs. For such
low signals the shielding of the sample from external signals is required.

Figure 5 shows the side view of a thin-film shield box. The sample is mounted to a small socket
board that is plugged into the green circuit board (known as a fingerboard) within the shield box.
The fingerboard is screwed to a mount that allows rotational freedom within the magnetic field.
Two Hall Effect sensors are mounted to the board. A vertical sensor (shown as C18) detects elec-
trical field that is parallel to the face of the fingerboard when the sample orientation is parallel to
the earth's surface as shown in Figure 5. The second Hall Effect sensor has its face in the plane
of the fingerboard. It detects magnetic field that is normal to the surface of the fingerboard when
the sample orientation is rotated 90°.

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Main Vision Manual 85

Signals from the sample fingerboard are discussed immediately below. However, Figure 5
shows that the signals are routed through short SMA cables connected to the body of the shield
box before being routed to/from the Precision Tester. This provides additional noise shielding as
the shielding of the signal cables is grounded to the shield box. This ensures that the shield box
holds a common ground plane with the Precision Tester chassis and with other instruments in the
experiment.

Figure 5 - Thin-Film Magneto-Electric Shield Box - Side View.
Figure 6 shows a top view of the shield box with the fingerboard in the same orientation as in
Figure 5. This provides a more-detailed view of the fingerboard and its connections, detectors
and signals. In a normal magneto-electric measurement, the sample is soldered onto a mounting
board with DRIVE, RETURN and Ground pins that are inserted, in the proper orientation, to the
fingerboard connector. The DRIVE and RETURN signals are routed to the SMA connectors on
the external portion of the fingerboard. For a magneto-electric measurement, the signal pin of the
DRIVE connector is grounded to the outer shell of the connector using a short grounding plug.
This ensures that the DRIVE introduces no signal to the measurement. The RETURN SMA is
connected, through the shield box body, to the Precision Tester RETURN port. It carries the
charge (pC) response of the samle to the stimulus magnetic field.

Note that the DRIVE SMA may be connected directly to the DRIVE port on the Precision Test-
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Main Vision Manual 86

er. This will disconnect the tester DRIVE port from the current amplifier so that no magnetic
signal is induced. With this simple change the electric charge response of the sample can be
measured just as in a standard electrical measurement.

The fingerboard contains an EEPROM that holds the characteristics - primarily Volts/Gauss gain
and offset - of the two Hall Effect sensors. The active sensor may be selected in Vision through
the I2C port. The selected sensor output will be switched to the Sensor output from which it can
be connected to the Precision Tester SENSOR 2 port. The EEPROM can be queries by Vision
for the appropriate gain and offset values to apply to the voltage measured at SENSOR 2 to con-
vert the voltage back to the detected magnetic field.

Figure 6 - Thin-Film Magneto-Electric Shield Box - Top View.
Figure 7 shows an early edition of the bulk sample shield box. The current version is similar in
the method of contacting and holding the sample. However, the current bulk shield box includes
the same fingerboard electronics as described above.

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Main Vision Manual 87

Figure 7 - Bulk Sample Magneto-Electric Shield Box - Side View.
Figure 8 shows the connections made between the Precision Tester and the CS 2.5 Current
Source. Not shown are the connections between the CS 2.5 Current Source "Current Output
+"/"Current Output -" ports and the Helmholtz Coil. Also not shown are the connections between
the fingerboard Return and Sensor ports and the Precision Tester RETURN and SENSOR 2
ports.

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Main Vision Manual 88

Figure 8 - Magneto-Electric Connections.

Table 1 offers a more-complete description of the connections to be made.

Cable Cable To Type Figure Discussion
From Color
Tester CS 2.5 Ground Banana Green This cable connects the instruments' chassis to a firm earth
Gound ground. This connection point should also be attached to
any metal components in the experiment - metal tables,
probe stations, equipment racks, etc.
CS 2.5 Tester I2C I2C Grey This cable carries identifying information from the CS 2.5
I2C (Telephone) Current Source to the Vision program. It also relays Hall
Effect Sensor selection from Vision to the fingerboard and
Hall Effect Sensor parameters from the fingerboard to Vi-
sion.
Finger- CS 2.5 I2C I2C N/A This cable carries the Hall Effect Sensor selection from
board (Telephone) Vision, through the Precision Tester and CS 2.5 Current
I2C Source to the Fingerboard. It passes parameters for the
selected Hall Effect Sensor back along the logic path to
Vision.
Tester Vision Host Printer-Type Orange Logical connection between the Vision host computer and
USB SUB USB the Precision Tester allow commands and parameters to be
passed from Vision to the tester and allow data to be
passed from the Precision Tester back to Vision.

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Tester (CS 2.5 Voltage BNC Light This cable carries a DRIVE stimulus that is converted by
DRIVE Input) Blue the CS 2.5 Current Source to a current (A) value that is
passed to the Helmholtz Coil where it is again converted to
a magnetic field. The magnetic field is given by the
DRIVE voltage x CS 2.5 A/V x Helmholtz Coil G/A. This
signal may also be routed directly to the Fingerboard Drive
connector to perform a direct electrical measurement.
CS 2.5 Tester SENSOR BNC Light This is a voltage that is returned from the CS 2.5 Current
Current 1 Blue Source to the Precision tester at SENSOR 2 for use by Vi-
Monitor sion. This is a voltage representation of the exact current
that is being generated by the CS 2.5. The ratio of this
voltage is exactly 1.0 V/A.
Finger- Tester SENSOR BNC-to- Dark This cable carries the output voltage of the selected Fin-
board 2 SMA Blue gerboard Hall Effect Sensor to the Precision Tester SEN-
Sensor SOR 2 port. It can be scaled and offset by parameters que-
ried from the Fingerboard EEPROM to convert the voltage
back to a magnetic field value.
Finger- Tester RE- BNC-to- Dark This cable carries the sample's Charge (pC) response to the
board TURN SMA Blue magnetic field back through the tester to Vision for conver-
Return sion, storage and plotting.
Finger- (Tester DRIVE) BNC-to- N/A For magnetic measurements this connector will be jump-
board SMA ered together using a short pigtail cable to ground the sig-
Drive nal pin to the outer shield. This port may be connected to
the Tester DRIVE port for direct electrical measurements.
CS 2.5 Helmholtz Coil Banana N/A This connection carries the ordered current (A) from the
Current Red CS 2.5 Current Source to the Helmholtz Coil output. This
Output + current drives the Helmholtz Coil output magnetic field
(G)
Helm- CS 2.5 Current Banana N/A The current (A) through the Helmholtz coil is carried back
holtz Output - through this cable to the CS 2.5 Current Source, complet-
Coil ing the circuit.
Black

Constant DC Magnetic Field
The discussion above describes the signals and equipment configuration for a base magneto-
electric measurement as in Figure 9.

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Main Vision Manual 90

Figure 9 - Basic Magneto-Electric Experiment Configuration.
The Radiant Technologies' Magneto-Electric Bundle and Vision program allow this basic exper-
iment to be augmented with the addition of a fixed DC magnetic field within which the basic
measurement is made. This is shown in Figure 10.

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Main Vision Manual 91

Figure 10 - Magneto-Electric Experiment Configuration with Fixed
DC Magnets.
(Note that Figure 10 shows a Lakeshore 425 Gaussmeter. This magnetic field detection device
has been supplanted by the Hall Effect sensors embedded in the shield box as described above.
Among other advantages, the Hall Effect sensors will detect the magnetic field simultaneously
with a sample measurement. The Lakeshore 425 detector cannot be left in place with the shield
box inserted into the Helmholtz coil. The Lakeshore 425 Gaussmeter is no longer offered with
the RTI Magneto-Electric Bundle.)

The DC magnetic field is normally applied by a set of fixed electromagnets (not provided by Ra-
diant Technologies, Inc.) These are normally controlled through a magnet-specific current ampli-
fier. The original Kepco Magneto-electric Bundle included the RTI I2C Voltage Controller (not
shown) to act as a programmable voltage input to the current amplifier. In the CS 2.5 Magneto-
Electric Bundle, this device has been supplanted by the CS 2.5 Current Source itself. In addition
to the current amplifier function of the CS 2.5, the instrument can also be programmed to output
specific voltages from the Field Bias-1 and/or Field Bias-2 port(s) (Figure 3). Either of these
may serve to apply the programmed voltage input to the fixed DC magnets. The voltage out must
be in the ±10.0 Volt range and is related to the DC magnetic field out by:

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Main Vision Manual 92

DC Magnetic Field = Field Bias-x DC Voltage x Amplifier Current (A)/Volt Ratio x Magnet
Field/A Ratio.

The Magneto-Electric Response Task (M.E.R. Task) will allow the DC field to be applied over a
user-specified ramp time and user-specified number of ramping steps before a measurement is
made.

Vision Control of Magneto-Electric Measurements
A number of Vision Tasks operate either the generic (Kepco) or CS 2.5 Current Source Magne-
to-Electric activities. The Tasks are grouped together either under "Generic" or "CS 2.5 " paths
in the TASK LIBRARY or under QuikLook. The primary magneto-electric Measurement Task is
the Magneto-Electric Response (M.E.R.) Task. The Task configuration dialog is shown in Fig-
ure 11.

Figure 11 - Magneto-Electric Response Task Configuration.

The Task configuration is very similar to a Hysteresis Task configuration except that the signal

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Main Vision Manual 93

is applied in units of Gauss, with conversion terms to determine the Precision Tester DRIVE
voltage. A secondary DC magnetic field is also configured. Configuration includes:

• Max Field (G) at the Sample: This is equivalent to the Hysteresis Task Max
Voltage control. It specifies the maximum waveform magnetic field to apply in units
of Gauss.

• Field (G)/Amp Ratio: This is the "Helmholtz Coil G/A" term from Equation (1)
above. This value is published on a sticker affixed to the Lakeshore MH-6 Helmholtz
Coil. It is the calibrate magnetic field (G) that will be generated for a current of 1
Amp.

• Current Amplifier Amps/Volt Ratio: This is the "Current Amplifier A/V" term
from Equation (1) above. This value is stored in the CS 2.5 EEPROM and automati-
cally read by the CS 2.5 Magneto-Electric Response Task. This is the CS 2.5 current
(A) that will be generated from a 1.0-Volt DRIVE stimulus input.

• Geometry Coefficient: This is a non-zero positive value less than or equal to 1. It
represents a know reduction in applied magnetic field at the sample due to sample
position and/or orientation. The Max Field (G) at the Sample will be scaled by the
inverse of this term to a Helmholtz Coil value that is of the correct strength to apply
the program field at the sample. This term will normally remain at a value of 1.0.

• Max Applied Volts: This a read-only control that displays the voltage that is to
be applied at the Precision Tester DRIVE port to generate the Max Field (G) at he
Sample. This value is given by:

Max Applied Volts = Max Field (G) at the Sample x 1/Field (G)/Amp Ratio x 1/Current Amplifi-
er Amps/Volt Ratio x 1/Geometry Coefficient (5)

• Max Applied Current (A): This is a read-only control that displays the current
generated by the CS 2.5 with an input of Max Applied Volts. It is given by:

Max Applied Currnet (A) = Max Applied Volts x Current Amplifier Amps/Volt Ratio

• Apply DC Field: Checking this box indicates that fixed electro-magnets are to
apply a DC bias field governed by the controls in this section. The field will be gen-
erated in response to the voltage out of Field Bias 1 or Field Bias 2. Checking this
box enables Field Bias 1, Field Bias 2, Max DC Field (G), DC Field/Volts Ratio, DC
Ramp Time (ms) and DC Ramp Steps.

• Field Bias 1/Field Bias 2: These controls are enabled if Apply DC Field is
checked. Otherwise they are disabled. Checking one of these controls unchecks the

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Main Vision Manual 94

other. The checked control determines with of the two Field Bias x ports on the CS
2.5 with be used to control the fixed electro-magnets.

• Max DC Field (G): This control is enabled if Apply DC Field is checked. Oth-
erwise it is disabled. This is the value of the fixed DC magnetic field to be applied by
the electro-magnets. The measurement will not begin until the DC magnetic field is
steady at this value.

• DC Field/Volt Ratio: This control is enabled if Apply DC Field is checked. Oth-
erwise it is disabled. This value is comprised of the combination of the electro-
magnet G/A ratio and the magnet's amplifier A/V ratio. The value in this control de-
termines the maximum voltage output by the CS 2.5 Field Bias 1 or Field Bias 2 port.
That voltage is given as 1/DC Field/Volt Ratio.

• DS Ramp Time (ms): This control is enabled if Apply DC Field is checked. Oth-
erwise it is disabled. This is the period over which the DC magnetic field will rise
"linearly" from 0.0 G to Max DC Field (G). "Linear" is in quotes because the field
rise is actually taken in discrete steps.

• DC Ramp Steps: This control is enabled if Apply DC Field is checked. Other-
wise it is disabled. This is the number of discrete magnetic field steps to apply over
DS Ramp Time (ms) until Max DC Field (G) is reached. Each steps will increment
the DC Field by Max DC Field (G)/DC Ramp Steps.

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Main Vision Manual 95

Tester Troubleshooting
<TODO>: Insert description text here... And don't forget to add keyword for this topic

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Main Vision Manual 96

Precision Tester Family (Models and Specifications)

Precision Tester models are detailed under this topic

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Precision RT66C

The Precision RT66C is perfect for a researcher looking for a flexible unit at an affordable price.
The RT66C Test System has a Hysteresis frequency rating of 1 kHz. The RT66C is offered in a
+/- 200V built-in drive volt option. The RT66C can be expanded to 10 kV with the addition of a
10 kV High Voltage Interface (HVI) and a High Voltage Amplifier (HVA).

The Precision RT66C offers the lowest-cost professional-quality member of the Radiant Tech-
nologies, Inc. Precision tester family. The RT66C physically differs from other testers in testers
in the family by:

• The tester has a height of 1 U. All other Precision testers are 2 U high.
• The tester does not offer a parallel port for logic communications to older High-
Voltage Interfaces (HVIs).
• The RT66C has only one SENSOR port. Other tester models offer two ports.
• The RT66C is limited to a ±200-Volt model. ±10.0-Volt, ±30.0-Volt, ±100.0-Volt
and ±500.0-Volt models are not offered.

RT66C Appearance

Figure 1 - Precision RT66C Front and Rear Panels.

RT66C Specifications
Parameter Value
AC Power 100 to 240 VAC
50-60 Hz
Fuse 1.25 Amp/250 VAC SB
Operating Temperature 0° to 40° C
Operating Humidity 85% Noncondensing
Elevation 0 to 3000 m

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Voltage Range (built-in drive voltage) ±200 V
Voltage Range with an external amplifier and High-Voltage interface 10 kV
(HVI)
Number of ADC Bits 14
Minimum Charge Resolution 122 fC
Minimum Area Resolution (assuming 1 ADC bit = 1μC/cm2) 12.2 μ2
Maximum Charge Resolution 4.8 μC

Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 4.8 mm2
100μC/cm ) 2

Maximum Charge Resolution with High-Voltage Interface (HVI) 480 μC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 4.8 cm2
100μC/cm2) w/o HVI
Maximum Hysteresis Frequency 1 kHz
Minimum Hysteresis Frequency 1/8th Hz
Minimum Pulse Width 500 μs
Minimum Pulse Rise Time (5 V) 500 μs
Maximum Pulse Width 100 ms
Maximum Delay between Pulses 40 ks
Internal Clock 50 μs
Minimum Leakage Current (assuming max current integration period = 1 10 pA
seconds)
Maximum Small Signal Cap Frequency 2 kHz
Minimum Small Signal Cap Frequency 10 Hz
Output Rise Time Control 2 settings
Input Capacitance 1 pF
Electrometer Input All Test Frequencies for all test at any speed Yes
* The minimum area resolution under actual test
conditions depends upon the internal noise envi-
ronment of the tester, the external noise environ-
ment, and the test jig parasitic capacitance.
*** Tester specifications are subject to change
without notice.

Table 1 - Precision RT66C Specifications.

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Main Vision Manual 99

RT66C Port Definitions

Figure 2 - Precision RT66C Port Definitions.
Port Name Connector Type Discussion
GND Banana This is a direct connection, through the tester chassis,
to earth ground. This port should be connected to the
ground connections of all other equipment in the ex-
periment. This port should be connected to any metal
components in the experiment such as tables, probe
stations, equipment racks, ets.
SAFETY Jumper These two pins must be connected together with the
INTER- jumper that was shipped with the tester to enable high-
LOCK voltage measurements.
SENSOR BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt
range, of any external instrument. The SENSOR volt-
age is captured simultaneously with data captured at
the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any exter-
nally-detected parameter such as temperature, pres-
sure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in
software.
EXT. FAT. BNC This port can be connected, in software, directly to the
DRIVE port output to allow the voltage from an exter-
nal signal generator to be applied to the connected
sample.
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, in the
±200.0-Volt range, that is used to stimulate one elec-
trode of the sample under test.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one

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Main Vision Manual 100

electrode of the sample under test as stimulated by the
DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode.
H.V. MON BNC For high-voltage measurements above ±200.0 Volts,
using accessory High-Voltage Interface (HVI) and
High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA) insturments, this port
captures a low-voltage model of the high-voltage sig-
nal that is being applied to the sample. This signal is
generated by the HVA and passed through the HVI to
the H.V. MON port.
I2C I2C (Telephone) This connector offers logical signals passed between
the RT66C and any of various accessory instruments
such as a High-Voltage Interface (HVI), a CS 2.5 Cur-
rent Source (for magneto-electric measurements and
general purpose applications) and/or an I2C Voltage
Controller. All of these are manufactured and offered
by Radiant Technologies, Inc.
USB Printer-Type USB This port provides the logical connection between the
Precision RT66C and the Vision program host com-
puter.

Table 2 - Precision RT66C Port Definitions.

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Main Vision Manual 101

Precision LC II

The Precision LC II is a full-featured Precision tester at a lower cost than the Precision Premier
II, Precision Multiferroic II or Precision pMEMS testers. The Precision LCII is an ideal general
purpose tester with a broad test range for thin films and bulk ceramics. The Precision LC II tester
has a frequency rating of 5 kHz at +/-200V built-in to the system. The Precision LC II Test Sys-
tem makes testing of thin films and bulk ceramics a fast and simple process.

The Precision LCII executes Hysteresis, Pulse, Leakage, I/V and C/V measurements without
changing sample connections. With the addition of extra fixtures, the Precision LCII can meas-
ure pyroelectric, magneto-electric, transistor, cryogenic and bulk and/or thin film piezoelectric
properties.

The Precision LCII II is offered with a variety of internal amplifiers. Models that operate at
±10V, 30V, 100V, 200V, and 500V are available. The Precision LCII operating voltage can be
expanded to 10 kV with the addition of a high voltage interface and amplifier.

Precision LC II Appearance

Figure 1 - Precision LC II Front and Rear Panels.

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Main Vision Manual 102

Precision LC II Specifications
Parameter Value
AC Power 100 to 240 VAC
50-60 Hz
Fuse 1.25 Amp/250
VAC SB
Operating Temperature 0° to 40° C
Operating Humidity 85% Noncondens-
ing
Elevation 0 to 3000 m

Voltage Range (built-in drive voltage) ±10 V, ±30 V, ±100
V, ±200V or ±500
V
Voltage Range with an external amplifier and High-Voltage interface (HVI) 10 kV
Number of ADC Bits 18
Minimum Charge Resolution <10.0 fC
Minimum Area Resolution (assuming 1 ADC bit = 1μC/cm2) 1.0 μ2
Maximum Charge Resolution 276.0 μC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100μC/cm2) 2.76 cm2
Maximum Charge Resolution with High-Voltage Interface (HVI) 27.6 mC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100μC/cm2) w/o HVI >100cm2
Maximum Hysteresis Frequency 5 kHz @ 10 V
5 kHz @ 30 V
5 kHz @ 100 V
5 kHz @ 200 V
2 kHz @ 500 V
Minimum Hysteresis Frequency 0.03 Hz
Minimum Pulse Width 50 μs
Minimum Pulse Rise Time (5 V) 40 μs
Maximum Pulse Width 1s
Maximum Delay between Pulses 40 ks
Internal Clock 25 ns
Minimum Leakage Current (assuming max current integration period = 1 seconds) 1 pA
Maximum Small Signal Cap Frequency 20 kHz
Minimum Small Signal Cap Frequency 1 Hz
Output Rise Time Control 103 Scaling
Input Capacitance -6 fF
Electrometer Input All Test Frequencies for all test at any speed Yes
* The minimum area resolution under actual test
conditions depends upon the internal noise environ-
ment of the tester, the external noise environment,
and the test jig parasitic capacitance.
*** Tester specifications are subject to change with-
out notice.

Table 1 - Precision LC II Specifications.

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Main Vision Manual 103

Precision LC II Port Definitions

Figure 2 - Precision LC II Port Definitions.
Port Name Connector Discussion
Type
Front Panel
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the rear-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
Rear Panel
Ground Banana This is a direct connection, through the tester chassis, to earth ground. This port
should be connected to the ground connections of all other equipment in the ex-
periment. This port should be connected to any metal components in the experi-
ment such as tables, probe stations, equipment racks, etc.
System Comm. 25-pin D- This port is included specifically to allow logical communications between the
Type tester (and Vision program) and the very old two-channel parallel High-Voltage

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Main Vision Manual 104

Parallel Interface (HVI).
SAFETY Jumper These two pins must be connected together with the jumper that was shipped with
INTERLOCK the tester to enable high-voltage measurements.
SENSOR 1 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 2. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
SENSOR 2 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 1. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the front-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
H.V. MON BNC For high-voltage measurements above ±200.0 Volts, using accessory High-
Voltage Interface (HVI) and High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA) insturments, this
port captures a low-voltage model of the high-voltage signal that is being applied
to the sample. This signal is generated by the HVA and passed through the HVI to
the H.V. MON port.
EXT. FAT. BNC This port can be connected, in software, directly to the DRIVE port output to al-
low the voltage from an external signal generator to be applied to the connected
sample.
SYNC BNC This port is normally held at 0.0 Volts. It rises to 3.3 Volts to indicate that the
sample charge (µC) is being captured and integrated at the tester RETURN port.
The port may also be used as an external trigger by configuring and execution the
Vision SYNC Trigger Task.
I2C I2C This connector offers logical signals passed between the LC II and any of various
(Telephone) accessory instruments such as a High-Voltage Interface (HVI), a CS 2.5 Current
Source (for magneto-electric measurements and general purpose applications)
and/or an I2C Voltage Controller. All of these are manufactured and offered by
Radiant Technologies, Inc.
USB Printer- This port provides the logical connection between the Precision LC II and the
Type USB Vision program host computer.

Table 2 - Precision LC II Port Definitions.

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Main Vision Manual 105

Precision Premier II

The Precision Premier II is an advanced tester that has a large test envelope in terms of frequen-
cy response, voltage range and accuracy. The Premier II has a fast Hysteresis frequency rating of
250 kHz at +/-10 V built-in to the system. The Premier II tester makes testing of thin films and
bulk ceramics a fast and simple process.

The Premier II executes Hysteresis, Pulse, Leakage, I/V and C/V measurements without chang-
ing sample connections. With the addition of extra fixtures, the Premier II can measure pyroelec-
tric, magneto-electric, transistor, cryogenic and bulk ceramics and/or thin film piezoelectric
properties.

The Precision Premier II is offered in a ±10.0 V, 30.0 V, 100.0 V, 20.0 0V and 500.0 V built-in
drive volt option. The Premier II can be expanded to 10 kV with the addition of a high voltage
interface and amplifier.

Precision Premier II Appearance

Figure 1 - Precision Premier II Front and Rear Panels.

Precision Premier II Specifications
Parameter Value

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Main Vision Manual 106

AC Power 100 to 240 VAC
50-60 Hz
Fuse 1.25 Amp/250 VAC SB
Operating Temperature 0° to 40° C
Operating Humidity 85% Noncondensing
Elevation 0 to 3000 m
Voltage Range (built-in drive voltage) ±10 V, ±30 V, ±100 V, ±200V
or ±500 V
Voltage Range with an external amplifier and High-Voltage interface (HVI) 10 kV
Number of ADC Bits 18
Minimum Charge Resolution 0.8 fC
Minimum Area Resolution (assuming 1 ADC bit = 1μC/cm2) 0.08 μ2
Maximum Charge Resolution 5.26 mC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100 μC/cm2) 52.6 cm2
Maximum Charge Resolution with High-Voltage Interface (HVI) 526 mC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100 μC/cm2) w/o >100 cm2
HVI
Maximum Hysteresis Frequency 50 kHz @ 10 V
50 kHz @ 30 V
50 kHz @ 100 V
50 kHz @ 200 V
2 kHz @ 500 V
Minimum Hysteresis Frequency 0.03 Hz
Minimum Pulse Width 0.5 μs
Minimum Pulse Rise Time (5 V) 400 ns
Maximum Pulse Width 1s
Maximum Delay between Pulses 40 ks
Internal Clock 25 ns
Minimum Leakage Current (assuming max current integration period = 1 seconds) 1 pA
Maximum Small Signal Cap Frequency 1 MHz
Minimum Small Signal Cap Frequency 1 Hz
Output Rise Time Control 105 Scaling
Input Capacitance -6 fF
Electrometer Input All Test Frequencies for all test at any speed Yes
* The minimum area resolution under actual test
conditions depends upon the internal noise environ-
ment of the tester, the external noise environment,
and the test jig parasitic capacitance.
*** Tester specifications are subject to change with-
out notice.

Table 1 - Precision Premier II Specifications.

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Main Vision Manual 107

Precision Premier II Port Definitions

Figure 2 - Precision Premier II Port Definitions.
Port Name Connector Discussion
Type
Front Panel
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the rear-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
Rear Panel
Ground Banana This is a direct connection, through the tester chassis, to earth ground. This port
should be connected to the ground connections of all other equipment in the ex-
periment. This port should be connected to any metal components in the experi-
ment such as tables, probe stations, equipment racks, etc.
System Comm. 25-pin D- This port is included specifically to allow logical communications between the
Type tester (and Vision program) and the very old two-channel parallel High-Voltage
Parallel Interface (HVI).
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Main Vision Manual 108

SAFETY Jumper These two pins must be connected together with the jumper that was shipped with
INTERLOCK the tester to enable high-voltage measurements.
SENSOR 1 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 2. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
SENSOR 2 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 1. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the front-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
H.V. MON BNC For high-voltage measurements above ±200.0 Volts, using accessory High-
Voltage Interface (HVI) and High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA) insturments, this
port captures a low-voltage model of the high-voltage signal that is being applied
to the sample. This signal is generated by the HVA and passed through the HVI to
the H.V. MON port.
EXT. FAT. BNC This port can be connected, in software, directly to the DRIVE port output to al-
low the voltage from an external signal generator to be applied to the connected
sample.
SYNC BNC This port is normally held at 0.0 Volts. It rises to 3.3 Volts to indicate that the
sample charge (µC) is being captured and integrated at the tester RETURN port.
The port may also be used as an external trigger by configuring and execution the
Vision SYNC Trigger Task.
I2C I2C This connector offers logical signals passed between the LC II and any of various
(Telephone) accessory instruments such as a High-Voltage Interface (HVI), a CS 2.5 Current
Source (for magneto-electric measurements and general purpose applications)
and/or an I2C Voltage Controller. All of these are manufactured and offered by
Radiant Technologies, Inc.
USB Printer- This port provides the logical connection between the Precision LC II and the
Type USB Vision program host computer.

Table 2 - Precision Premier II Port Definitions.

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tribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-

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Main Vision Manual 109

Precision Multiferroic II

The Precision Multiferroic II Ferroelectric tester is the most advanced test system on the market.
The Multiferroic II has a unique frequency rating of 270 kHz at +/-100 V built-in to the system.
The Multiferroic II tester makes testing of thin films and bulk ceramics a fast and simple pro-
cess.

The Multiferroic II executes Hysteresis, Pulse, Leakage, I/V and C/V measurements without
changing sample connections. With the addition of extra fixtures, the Multiferroic II can measure
pyroelectric, magnetoelectric, transistor, cryogenic and bulk and/or thin film piezoelectric prop-
erties.

The Precision Multiferroic II is offered with a variety of internal amplifiers. The Multiferroic II
is offered with a ±100.0 V, 200.0 V and 500.0 V built-in drive volt option. The Multiferroic II
can be expanded to 10 kV with the addition of a high voltage interface and an amplifier.

Precision Multiferroic II Appearance

Figure 1 - Precision Multiferroic II Front and Rear Panels.

Precision Multiferroic II Specifications

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Main Vision Manual 110

Parameter Value
AC Power 100 to 240 VAC
50-60 Hz
Fuse 1.25 Amp/250 VAC SB
Operating Temperature 0° to 40° C
Operating Humidity 85% Noncondensing
Elevation 0 to 3000 m
Voltage Range (built-in drive voltage) ±10 V, ±30 V, ±100 V,
±200V or ±500 V
Voltage Range with an external amplifier and High-Voltage interface (HVI) 10 kV
Number of ADC Bits 18
Minimum Charge Resolution 0.8 fC
Minimum Area Resolution (assuming 1 ADC bit = 1μC/cm2) 0.08 μ2
Maximum Charge Resolution 5.26 mC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100 μC/cm2) 52.6 cm2
Maximum Charge Resolution with High-Voltage Interface (HVI) 526 mC
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100 μC/cm2) w/o HVI >100 cm2
Maximum Hysteresis Frequency 270 kHz @ 10 V
270 kHz @ 30 V
270 kHz @ 100 V
100 kHz @ 200 V
5 kHz @ 500 V
Minimum Hysteresis Frequency 0.03 Hz
Minimum Pulse Width 0.5 μs
Minimum Pulse Rise Time (5 V) 400 ns
Maximum Pulse Width 1s
Maximum Delay between Pulses 40 ks
Internal Clock 25 ns
Minimum Leakage Current (assuming max current integration period = 1 seconds) 1 pA
Maximum Small Signal Cap Frequency 1 MHz
Minimum Small Signal Cap Frequency 1 Hz
Output Rise Time Control 105 Scaling
Input Capacitance -6 fF
Electrometer Input All Test Frequencies for all test at any speed Yes
* The minimum area resolution under actual test
conditions depends upon the internal noise environ-
ment of the tester, the external noise environment,
and the test jig parasitic capacitance.
*** Tester specifications are subject to change with-
out notice.

Table 1 - Precision Premier II Specifications.
Precision Premier II Port Definitions

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Main Vision Manual 111

Figure 2 - Precision Multiferroic II Port Definitions.
Port Name Connector Discussion
Type
Front Panel
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the rear-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
Rear Panel
Ground Banana This is a direct connection, through the tester chassis, to earth ground. This port
should be connected to the ground connections of all other equipment in the ex-
periment. This port should be connected to any metal components in the experi-
ment such as tables, probe stations, equipment racks, etc.
System Comm. 25-pin D- This port is included specifically to allow logical communications between the
Type tester (and Vision program) and the very old two-channel parallel High-Voltage
Parallel Interface (HVI).
SAFETY Jumper These two pins must be connected together with the jumper that was shipped with
INTERLOCK the tester to enable high-voltage measurements.

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Main Vision Manual 112

SENSOR 1 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 2. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
SENSOR 2 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 1. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the front-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
H.V. MON BNC For high-voltage measurements above ±200.0 Volts, using accessory High-
Voltage Interface (HVI) and High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA) insturments, this
port captures a low-voltage model of the high-voltage signal that is being applied
to the sample. This signal is generated by the HVA and passed through the HVI to
the H.V. MON port.
EXT. FAT. BNC This port can be connected, in software, directly to the DRIVE port output to al-
low the voltage from an external signal generator to be applied to the connected
sample.
SYNC BNC This port is normally held at 0.0 Volts. It rises to 3.3 Volts to indicate that the
sample charge (µC) is being captured and integrated at the tester RETURN port.
The port may also be used as an external trigger by configuring and execution the
Vision SYNC Trigger Task.
I2C I2C This connector offers logical signals passed between the LC II and any of various
(Telephone) accessory instruments such as a High-Voltage Interface (HVI), a CS 2.5 Current
Source (for magneto-electric measurements and general purpose applications)
and/or an I2C Voltage Controller. All of these are manufactured and offered by
Radiant Technologies, Inc.
USB Printer- This port provides the logical connection between the Precision LC II and the
Type USB Vision program host computer.

Table 2 - Precision Multiferroic II Port Definitions.

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Main Vision Manual 113

PiezoMEMS (pMEMS)

Introduction
Thin-piezoelectric-film technology is leaving the laboratory to become commercial. The Pie-
zoMEMS Analyzer is offered as a research tool in the development of this technology. Much
thicker bulk capacitors are being embedded as actuators and sensors inside their own electronic
circuitry. Multi-disciplinary teams of mechanical, electrical, and reliability engineers now work
alongside materials engineers to create new and novel devices. Classic engineering tools such as
impulse response, impedance analysis, and resonance characterization must be integrated with
traditional polarization, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and magneto-electric measurements. To con-
trol circuits containing embedded ferroic capacitors, asynchronous or semi-synchronous digital
and analog functions must run independent-of or in-parallel-with crystal-clock-controlled ferroic
measurements. Communication with embedded controllers and custom digital circuitry is criti-
cal. Together these requirements demand an extremely complex test environment.

Radiant Technologies’ Precision PiezoMEMS Analyzer integrates digital, analog, and communi-
cations circuit functions with the existing non-linear materials measurement capabilities of the
Precision Multiferroic Non-linear Materials Tester, all supervised by Radiant’s Vision program-
mable test environment. The PiezoMEMS Analyzer not only measures piezoelectric properties of
actuator and sensor elements of a commercial product, it will communicate with the product’s
electronic logic, talk to embedded microprocessors, supply asynchronous voltages and pulses,
and measure sensor frequencies.

Capabilities
The PiezoMEMS Analyzer combines the following capabilities:

• A fully functional, high speed, non-linear ferroic properties tester ranging up to +/-
200 V capable of Hysteresis, PUND, Leakage, CV, piezoelectric displacement, ther-
mal, and magnetoelectric measurements. The PiezoMEMS Analyzer is expandable to
10 kV.
• Asynchronous/semi-synchronous ±10 V arbitrary analog pulse generator with pro-
grammable delay. In delay mode, the delay is specified by the user and triggered on a
sample measurement by the tester's SYNC signal. The trigger may occur only on the
first detected SYNC signal or may repeat at each detected SYNC. The pulse is ap-
plied at the pMEMS' V1/FREQ channel.
• An asynchronous 16-bit, ±10 V, 1012 ohm input-impedance voltage measurement
port.
• Two independent ±10 V DC bias generators.
• 2 Hz to 60 MHz frequency counter for measuring oscillator circuits.
• 7- and 8-Bit output and 8-Bit input parallel digital ports for setting, controlling, and
reading digital ICs or communicating with microprocessors.
• Arbitrary I2C custom programmable I/O for communicating with I2C capable micro-
processors and logic circuits.
• Built in LCR impedance measurement port.

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Main Vision Manual 114

Precision pMEMS Appearance

Figure 1 - Precision pMEMS Front and Rear Panels.

Precision pMEMS Specifications
Parameter Value
AC Power 100 to 240 VAC
50-60 Hz
Fuse 1.25 Amp/250 VAC SB
Operating Temperature 0° to 40° C
Operating Humidity 85% Noncondensing
Elevation 0 to 3000 m
Voltage Range (built-in drive voltage)
Voltage Range with an external amplifier and High-Voltage interface (HVI)
Number of ADC Bits
Minimum Charge Resolution
Minimum Area Resolution (assuming 1 ADC bit = 1μC/cm2)
Maximum Charge Resolution
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100 μC/cm2)
Maximum Charge Resolution with High-Voltage Interface (HVI)
Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100 μC/cm2)
w/o HVI
Maximum Hysteresis Frequency
Minimum Hysteresis Frequency

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Main Vision Manual 115

Minimum Pulse Width
Minimum Pulse Rise Time (5 V)
Maximum Pulse Width
Maximum Delay between Pulses
Internal Clock
Minimum Leakage Current (assuming max current integration period = 1 sec-
onds)
Maximum Small Signal Cap Frequency
Minimum Small Signal Cap Frequency
Output Rise Time Control
Input Capacitance
Electrometer Input All Test Frequencies for all test at any speed
pMEMS-Only Components
V1/FREQ: Pulse Mode • ±10.0-Volt Pulse
• User-programmed pulse
width
• Immediate or delay modes -
Delay mode triggers on
measurement SYNC signal.
V1/FREQ and V2/ADC: DC Bias Mode • Two independent ±10.0-Volt
DC voltages
V2/ADC: Voltage Capture Mode • Voltage input of up to ±10.0
Volts
• 16-Bit ADC
• 1012 Ω input impedance.
V1/FREQ: Frequency Counter Mode • Up to 60 MHz
LCR Impedance/Capacitance Measurement Port • 1 to 100 kHz
100 to 100,000 Ω
DIO Port • 7-Bit output latch.
• 8.-Bit output latch
• 8-Bit input latch
* The minimum area resolution under actual test
conditions depends upon the internal noise environ-
ment of the tester, the external noise environment,
and the test jig parasitic capacitance.
*** Tester specifications are subject to change with-
out notice.

Table 1 - Precision pMEMS Specifications.

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Main Vision Manual 116

Precision pMEMS Port Definitions

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Main Vision Manual 117

Figure 2 - Precision pMEMS Port Definitions.
Port Name Connector Discussion
Type
Front Panel
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the rear-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
LCR HIGH BNC Connect one sample electrode hear for LCR analysis.
LCR LOW BNC Connect the opposite sample electrode hear for LCR analysis.
V1/FREQ BNC This port can be programmed to output a DC voltage in the ±10.0-Volt range us-
ing the pMEMS Voltage Task.

The pMEMS Pulse Task can be programmed to provide a pulse voltage in the
±10.0-Volt range of user-programmed duration. The pulse may be immediate or
triggered on the pMEMS tester SYNC signal associated with a measurement. For
the SYNC-triggered signal a delay may be programmed between the trigger and
the pulse. The pulse may be programmed to trigger only on the first instance of
the SYNC signal or repeatedly at every instance of the SYNC signal.

As an input the frequency of a signal in the ±10.0-Volt range can be captured by

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Main Vision Manual 118

the pMEMS Frequency Counter Task.
V2/ADC BNC This port can be programmed to output a DC voltage in the ±10.0-Volt range us-
ing the pMEMS Voltage Task.

The pMEMS Read Volts Task will capture an input voltage ±10.0-Volt range.
The the pMEMS Voltage Task was used to write a voltage to the port, this Task
will read that output voltage.
DIO 26-Pin DIN This port is used to write a 7-bit or 8-bit digital word or to read an 8-bit digital
word using the pMEMS DIO Task. The 7-bit A output port comprises pins 2
through 8, with the most-significant bit (MSB) at pin 2. The B port is also an out-
put port of 8 bits on pins 9 through 16 with pin 9 as the MSB. Digital logic input
is read at the C port on pins 17 through 24, with pin 17 as MSB. Pin 1 is tied to
tester chassis ground. Pin 25 carries 5.0 Volts. No connection is made to pin 26.
Rear Panel
Ground Banana This is a direct connection, through the tester chassis, to earth ground. This port
should be connected to the ground connections of all other equipment in the ex-
periment. This port should be connected to any metal components in the experi-
ment such as tables, probe stations, equipment racks, etc.
System Comm. 25-pin D- This port is included specifically to allow logical communications between the
Type tester (and Vision program) and the very old two-channel parallel High-Voltage
Parallel Interface (HVI).
SAFETY IN- Jumper These two pins must be connected together with the jumper that was shipped with
TERLOCK the tester to enable high-voltage measurements.
SENSOR 1 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 2. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
SENSOR 2 BNC This port captures the voltage output, in the ±10.0-Volt range, of any external
instrument. The SENSOR voltage is captured simultaneously with data captured
at the RETURN port. The purpose is to collect any externally-detected parameter
such as temperature, pressure, light intensity or, in particular, sample piezo-
electric displacement. Capture of this port is enabled in software. This port is in-
dependent of SENSOR 1. Including two ports allows more flexibility in capturing
data from multiple instruments.
DRIVE BNC This port outputs a software-specified voltage, with voltage limits specified by the
purchased internal amplifier, that is used to stimulate one electrode of the sample
under test. This connection is identical to the front-panel DRIVE port. Either port
may be used based on convenience.
RETURN BNC This port captures the charge (µC) response at one electrode of the sample under
test as stimulated by the DRIVE output voltage at the opposite electrode .This
connection is identical to the rear-panel RETURN port. Either port may be used
based on convenience.
H.V. MON BNC For high-voltage measurements above ±200.0 Volts, using accessory High-
Voltage Interface (HVI) and High-Voltage Amplifier (HVA) insturments, this
port captures a low-voltage model of the high-voltage signal that is being applied
to the sample. This signal is generated by the HVA and passed through the HVI to
the H.V. MON port.
EXT. FAT. BNC This port can be connected, in software, directly to the DRIVE port output to al-
low the voltage from an external signal generator to be applied to the connected

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Main Vision Manual 119

sample.
SYNC BNC This port is normally held at 0.0 Volts. It rises to 3.3 Volts to indicate that the
sample charge (µC) is being captured and integrated at the tester RETURN port.
The port may also be used as an external trigger by configuring and execution the
Vision SYNC Trigger Task.
I2C I2C This connector offers logical signals passed between the LC II and any of various
(Telephone) accessory instruments such as a High-Voltage Interface (HVI), a CS 2.5 Current
Source (for magneto-electric measurements and general purpose applications)
and/or an I2C Voltage Controller. All of these are manufactured and offered by
Radiant Technologies, Inc.
USB Printer- This port provides the logical connection between the Precision LC II and the
Type USB Vision program host computer.

Table 2 - Precision pMEMS Port Definitions.

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tribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-

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Main Vision Manual 120

Radiant Technologies Accessories
<TODO>: Insert description text here... And don't forget to add keyword for this topic

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Main Vision Manual 121

High-Voltage Interface (HVI)

The High-Voltage Interface (HVI) is a safety instrument that transfers signals between a High-
Voltage Amplifier (HVA) and a Precision tester when making measurements at voltages above
the internal capabilities of the tester and up to ±10,000 Volts. The HVI routes the tester's low-
voltage model of the intended signal to the HVA where it is amplified and returned, through the
HVI HV DRIVE port to one sample electrode. The sample's charge response is collected from
the opposite electrode at the HVI HV RETURN port and passed to the Precision tester. The HVI
also passes a low-voltage model of the high-voltage signal out of the HVA from the HVA to the
tester to be used to represent the actual voltage being applied.

Logic signals are passed between the HVI and the Precision tester through an I2C interface. The
logic signals indicate the presence of the High-Voltage Interface to the tester and Vision soft-
ware. They also provide the tester with HVA-specific information such as voltage output-to-
voltage input ratio (amplifier gain factor), ramp rate (Volts/sec.), high-voltage output-to-low-
voltage monitor scale factor, etc. Previous versions of the HVI required a separate HVA ID
Module to represent the amplifier logic. Changing to an amplifier with different specifications
would require a new ID Module. The current version of the HVI maintains the amplifier charac-
teristics internally in an EEPROM. No ID Module is required. A new amplifier can be selected in
software provided its characteristics have been specified to Radiant Technologies, Inc. and it has
been incorporated into the C:\RT_USB\AccessorEEProm.txt file.

The primary purpose of the HVI is to detect voltages above 0.0 V at the HV RETURN port. This
would represent an event that has caused the HV DRIVE voltage signal to short through and/or
around the sample. In this case the voltage output into the amplifier is immediately terminated,
protecting both equipment and the equipment operators. All high-voltage signals, along with the
(normally) 0.0-Volt HV RETURN signal, are through 40,000-Volt monoaxial cables with rubber
shielding sleeves.

High-Voltage Interface (HVI) Appearance

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Figure 1 - HVI Front and Rear Panels.
Safety Features of The High Voltage Interface

• Test path fully insulated with 50kV insulation to protect the end user.
• High speed protection during breakdowns (less than a microsecond).
• High voltage amplifier disconnected by HVI on dead shorts.
• Safety Interlock on rear panel of HVI prevents high voltage application if not closed.
• Unique amplifier identification procedure by the host computer prevents unassigned high
voltage excursions.

Tester/HVI/HVA Connections

Figure 2 repeats Figure 1 with annotations indicating the connections to be made. Note that
much more detail is provided in this document under Precision Testers and Accessories-
>Precision Testers->High-Voltage Setup and Operation.

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Figure 2 - HVI Front and Rear Panels - Connections Annotated.

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High-Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF)

The High-Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF) provides a safe test environment for measure bulk sam-
ple response to up to ±10,000 Volts. The sample is placed in the center of the chamber of the
open test fixture, with the bottom electrode contacting the bottom (HV DRIVE/High-Voltage)
electrode. The sample reservoir may be filled with mineral oil or other fine oil to prevent the
voltage from arcing around the sides of the sample. When the top is placed onto the sample, the
top electrode, which is free to move vertically to accommodate samples of varying thickness,
contacts the sample top (HV RETURN/0.0-Volt) electrode to collect the sample charge. The
HVTF bottom connector is normally connected to the High-Voltage Interface (HVI) HV DRIVE
port and the top connector is cabled to the HVI HV RETURN port.

The HVTF is made of Teflon providing safe electrical insulation to 10 kV. The Teflon fixture
may be heated to a temperature as high as 230° C, if the fixture is placed in an oven.

High-Voltage Test Fixture (HVTF) Appearance

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High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM)

The High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM) is very similar to the High-Voltage Test Fixture
(HVTF). The HVDM adds to the HVTF a micropositioner and a stability arm that allows a Phil-
tec-style photonic displacement sensor wand to be precisely positioned above the HVTF top
electrode. This wand can then be used to detect piezoelectric sample displacement with the ap-
plication of voltages of up to ±10,000 Volts. The detected displacement is converted by the dis-
placement sensor that can be collected at the Precision tester SENSOR 1 or SENSOR 2 port sim-
ultaneously with the sample charge (µC) response to an HV DRIVE stimulus voltage. This video
shows the use of the HVDM in calibrating and configuring an MTI 2000 Fotonic Displacement
Detector.

As with the HVTF, the HVDM can be taken to a temperature as high as 230° C, provided an ov-
en large enough to receive the HVDM and sensor wand is available.

High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM) Appearance

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Heated High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HB-PTB) or (HVDM II)

The Heated High-Voltage Displacement Meter - with designations HB-PTB or HVDM II - ex-
tends the capability of the High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HVDM) by adding electronics that
combine an Philtec displacement sensor and a heater element that is controlled directly by the
Vision program, through a separate USB channel.

Heated High-Voltage Displacement Meter (HB-PTB/HVDM II) Appearance

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HB-PTB Operating Specifications
Operating Voltage 90-277 VAC 50/60 Hz
Fuse 4 A 250 VAC SB
Environment Operating Temperature 0° to 40° C
Environment Operating Humidity 85% Noncondensing

Safety
The HB-PTB can reach internal temperatures or 230° C. Do not open the test fixture or attempt
to touch your sample or internal parts of the HB-PTB before allowing the instrument to cool
completely. The Vision Read Temperature Task can be used to monitor the internal temperature
of the instrument.

Recalibration
Note that when operating over a range of temperatures, the Philtec displacement sensor will need
to be repositioned after every temperature range to return the output to the 5.0-Volt position.
This is the result of thermal expansion as the temperature changes. This requires supervision of
an experiment that is being conducted over several temperatures. Future improvements to the
HVDM are planned that will automatically keep the Philtec sensor positioned for optimal output.

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Installation, Configuration, Calibration and Operation

Introduction:
This document is the set of instructions for setting up and operating the Radiant High HB-PTB
system. Please contact Radiant Technologies with any questions.

Description:
The HB-PTB system allows testing of high-voltage ceramics formed into a disk capacitor at
temperatures of up to 230° C. The HB-PTB Test Fixture (referred to, here, as the HVDM II)
connects to a Radiant Non- linear Materials Tester via rubber-coated high-voltage cables rated to
50 kV DC or 10 kV AC. The unit is constructed with Teflon and holds the sample under test dur-
ing high voltage application. When combined with the insulated high-voltage cables from the
tester, the entire high voltage test path is completely enclosed with insulation rated to 10,000
Volts or higher to provide a safe operating environment for the user despite the high voltages.

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The well of the HVDM II may be filled with an oil to prevent air-gap breakdown around the
edge of the sample during high voltage application. It is not necessary to use oil if the geometry
of the electrodes of the sample is modified to increase the air-gap to a distance that that can with-

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stand the voltages targeted in the specified test procedures.

Two cross section views of the fixture at different angles with a sample (blue) are shown below.
The bottom electrical contact button is fixed in the well of the HVDM II. The top electrode is
free floating to accommodate samples of various heights. Each is wired to a dedicated high volt-
age connector.

The free floating top electrode allows measurement of the sample by the PhilTec displacement
sensor that is incorporated into the HB-PTB. The sensor can be seen in the cross-section of the
HVDM II, below, as the vertical wand extending down nearly to the top surface of the top elec-
trode contact. If the sample surface moves, the electrodes surface moves. That movement is
viewed and measured by the wand.

Note that the figures represent the standard HVDM test fixture. They show a stability arm and micrometer
that are incorporated into that test fixture. The HB-PTB frame serves the purposes of the stability arm and
micrometer.

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Of note is the geometry of the displacement measurement. Photonic displacement wands such as
those used by PhilTec or MTI measure the distance between the tip of the wand and the sample
surface. Therefore, when the sample surface moves upwards, it gets closer to the wand and the
wand reports a smaller distance. Measurements will appear upside down. To correct this inver-
sion, place a negative sign in front of the scale factor entered into the SENSOR setup menu.

Theory of Calibration:
The photonic sensor wand emits non-coherent light from a fiber bundle. The ends of the fibers in
the bundle have curvature so the beam of light exiting the tip of the wand has a specific diver-
gence angle. The light reflects from the sample surface and travels back to the wand with the
same divergence angle. A second optical fiber bundle in the wand intermixed with the first, col-
lects the reflected light and channels it to a detector. Because of the divergence angle of the light,
the amplitude of the reflected light seen by the detector will be a fixed function of the distance to
the sample surface. With proper calibration, that amplitude is linearly related to the distance between the
sample surface to the tip of the sensor wand.

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The best performance occurs when the wand is perpendicular to the sample surface. The HVDM
II architecture ensures that the wand is perpendicular to the top surface of the free floating top
electrode contact.

If the wand is lowered to a point just above the top surface of the free floating top electrode, the
amplitude of the light reflected from the electrode surface into the wand decreases to a minimum.
As the tip is raised away from the surface from that point the amplitude of the reflected light in-
creases, as indicated by the alphanumeric display on the HB-PTB front panel. At the optimal cal-
ibration distance, the intensity will peak and then decline as the wand continues away. Because
the divergence angle of the light is fixed by the fiber optic bundle, the peak reflected signal oc-
curs at a known distance from the sample surface. The calibration procedure consists of setting
the wand at that peak height above the surface, manually adjusting the voltage output of the HB-
PTB control unit to read approximately 10.0 Volts, and then lowering the wand back towards the
sample surface to the half-way point as indicated by a 5.0-Volt reading on the HB-PTB display.
The output of the HB-PTB to the tester SENSOR input will then have a scale factor of -5.0 mi-
crons/Volt for all tests.

NOTE: The next four pages contain step-by-step instructions for loading, calibrating and testing
with the HB-PTB. They may be printed separately and posted near the test station.

Installation:

• With the gantry open, insert the sample into the HVDM II by removing the top. En-
sure that the sample is centered in the HVDM II well and that the sample bottom elec-
trode makes contact with the HVDM II bottom electrode.

• Place the HVDM II top straight down onto the HVDM II bottom. This allows the

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free-floating HVDM II top electrode to contact the sample top electrode.

• Close the gantry.

• Connect the HVDM II bottom electrode to the Radiant Technologies’ High-Voltage
Interface (HVI) H.V. DRIVE port. Note that this port will produce the high-voltage
signal. NOTE: It is important that this signal be connected to the HVDM II bottom
electrode and not to the top electrode. Connecting to the top electrode risks high volt-
age arcing to the displacement detection wand.

• NOTE: Please see the Main Vision Manual and distribution cover letters for details
about high-voltage configuration and operation. This discussion is beyond the scope
of this document.

• Plug the HB-PTB control unit into a power receptacle. It accepts 100 V to 220 V, 50
or 60 Hz single-phase and automatically selects the correct settings internally.

• Connect the coaxial cable from the HB-PTB rear-panel Sensor port to the SENSOR 1
BNC port on the rear panel of the tester.

• Connect the HB-PTB rear-panel USB port to the Vision host computer that will be
controlling the HB-PTB and the Precision tester.

• Turn on the HB-PTB, then start Vision on the host computer. Note that, if Vision is
already running when the HB-PTB is connected, then Vision must be informed of the
presence of the instrument by doing a Hardware Refresh. Select Tools->Hardware Re-
fresh or press <Alt-W>. You will need to repeat the tester calibration performed at
startup.

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WARNING: The HV RETURN should always be connected to the top half of the
HVDM to prevent arcing to the sensor wand. The PhilTec displacement sensor wand
is metal coated and will sit less than one millimeter from the top surface of the top
electrode contact during testing. If the HV DRIVE from the Precision HVI is connect-
ed to the top electrode contact, it will easily arc to the metal cladding of the sensor
wand. The HV RETURN of the Precision HVI never leaves ground potential at any
time even during sample breakdown. It should always be connected to the top elec-
trode of the HVDM so both the electrode and the sensor wand will be at the same po-
tential.

NOTE: See Appendix A for the instructions to install the HB-PTB to the Vision host
computer.

Loading the Wand:
WARNING: Do not attempt to load the sample with the displacement detector wand inserted
into the gantry.

• With the HB-PTB gantry closed, loosen the set screw at the detection wand sleeve.

• Manually insert wand through the sleeve and into the top of the HVDM II.

• Continue to insert manually until the probe is nearly touching the top surface of the
top electrode of the HVDM II.

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• Gently tighten the set screw to hold the wand in place.

CAUTION: Be sure not to over tighten the set screw and bend the wand.

• Using the adjustment ring, adjust the wand upward (away from the top of the HVDM
II electrode) until a maximum is found on the display output.

• With a small screwdriver, adjust the coarse, then fine, Gain screws at the HB-PTB
front panel until the HB-PTB reads approximately 10.0 Volts. It is not critical that the
value be exactly 10.0 Volts but should be as close as possible.

• Using the adjustment ring, move the wand downward (towards the top of the HVDM
II) until the HB-PTB display reads approximately 5.0 Volts. This places the displace-
ment detection in the center of the detection range. This is the most-linear portion of
the range and allows freedom of detection in both the positive and negative directions.
Note that there will be very little clearance between the wand tip and the top of the
HVDM II top electrode.

Controlling HVDM II Temperature
The HVDM II test fixture temperature is controlled using the Vision Set Temperature and Read
Temperature Tasks. Both Tasks are available from the QuikLook menu under QuikLook-
>External Instrument Tasks->…. Both are available in the TASK LIBRARY under TASK LI-
BRARY->Hardware->External Instruments->….

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To control the temperature, select the Set Temperature Task. When the configuration dialog ap-
pears the important elements are to select “HB-PTB (HVDM II)” in the Thermal Controller Type
list and to set the intended temperature in Temperature (°C). A Tolerance °C should be set to
allow a small range of acceptable temperatures. If Use Stability Delay is checked, the Task will
not exit control until the actual temperature remains within ± Tolerance °C for a period defined
in Stability Delay (s).

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For all Tasks, see the Task Instructions for complete theory, configuration and execution details.

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Set Temperature Task Progress Dialog.

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To monitor the current temperature without adjusting the set point, use the Read Temperature
Task. See the Task Instructions for complete details.

Note that the Precision tester is not required to operate the Set Temperature or Read Temperature
Task.

Measuring Sample Displacement
Sample displacement is measured using either the Piezo Task or the Advanced Piezo Task. The
Advanced Piezo Task is intended for thin-film samples with small displacements producing very
small signal response with respect to circuit and environmental noise. It offers repeated meas-
urements that are averaged together and a number of other random noise reduction tools. Nor-
mally, for high-voltage, bulk sample responses as measured by the HB-PTB the Piezo Task of-
fers a faster and simpler response that is quite acceptable. Nevertheless, the Advanced Piezo
Task is quite capable of providing quality HB-PTB data.

In order to operate the Piezo and Advanced Piezo Tasks, along with the Piezo Filter Task, the
Tasks must be licensed. Most of Vision is freely distributed and may be downloaded and in-
stalled by anyone on any number of host computers. However, there are several Task Suites, in-
cluding the Transistor Task Suite, the Magneto-Electric Task Suite, the Pyro-electric (Chamber
Task Suite) and the Piezoelectric Task Suite for which the Tasks must be purchased. All Tasks in
these Custom Task Suites are distributed with Vision and are available to anyone who downloads
and installs Vision. Anyone may open a Task configuration dialog for review and to access the
Task Instructions. Anyone may review archived data taken by a licensed installation of the Cus-
tom Task. However, to configure and execute a Custom Task a license must be purchased. The
license is in the form of a file named Security.sec that is copied into C:\Program Files
(x86)\Radiant Technologies\Vision\System. The file is coded to the Task Suite(s) that has/have
been purchased. It is also coded to an identifier that is embedded in the Precision tester for which
it was purchased. The license may be copied to any number of host computers but it cannot be
transferred to users of other testers.

The Piezo and Advanced Piezo Tasks are QuikLook Tasks found in QuikLook->Piezo-Electric
Tasks->…. They are also found in TASK LIBRARY->Hardware->Measurement->Piezo->…

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When the dialog opens:

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• Provide a unique and meaningful Task Name.
• Click Set Amplifier to open a subdialog. In the dialog check External High Voltage
and click OK to close. Amplifier will be updated from “Internal” to “High Voltage”

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• Assign an appropriate Max. Voltage. Note that, if you are using the commercial pie-
zoelectric standard provided by Radiant Technologies, Inc., do not exceed 1100 Volts.
• Assign an appropriate Period (ms). For “Standard Bipolar” DRIVE Profile Type, the
Period (ms) is equivalent to 1000/Frequency (Hz). To review the DRIVE profile click
Profile Preview.

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• Provide the correct Sample Area (cm2) and Sample Thickness (µm) dimensions. Note
that Sample Area (cm2) is used to normalize the sample charge (µC) response to pro-
duce the correct measurement units of polarization (µC/cm2). Sample Thickness (µm)
is recorded primarily for sample documentation. However if electric signal strength is
to be specified and/or plotted in units of electric field (kV/cm), rather than voltage,
then the Sample Thickness (µm) parameter is used to scale voltage to derive electric
field (kV/cm). See the Task Instructions for complete discussion.
• In Disp. Meter Scale enter -5. This scales the SENSOR 1 port voltage from the HB-
PTB to displacement (µm).

The figure shows the response of the standard commercial PZT reference disk provided by Radi-
ant Technologies, Inc. at 1000.0 Volts

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Appendix A: Installing the HB-PTB to the Vision Host Computer/Windows

The HB-PTB, along with the Precision tester, must be installed to the Windows operating system
after the Vision program is installed. It is highly recommended that the latest version of Vision
be installed. Vision updates can be checked and downloaded by visiting
https://www.ferrodevices.com/1/297/download_vision_software.asp. Fill in the form and click
Submit. You will be linked to the Vision Installer download page. Click the download button and
then run the program. Acknowledge any warnings and allow the download and installation to
proceed. The installer will update any existing installations or install a fresh version of the pro-
gram.
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Vision, the Precision tester and the HB-PTB may be installed to Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10. Win-
dows XP and Vista are no longer supported.
To install the HB-PTB to Windows 8, 8.1 or 10, simply connect the instrument to the host com-
puter and turn it on. The instrument will automatically install itself with no further action by the
user.

To install the HB-PTB to Windows 7, connect the instrument to the host computer and turn it on.
Windows will attempt to install the instrument, but will fail. Follow these steps:

• On the Windows desktop, right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Manage”.

• In the window that appears select “Device Manager” in the left pane and open the “Uni-
versal Serial Bus controllers” folder in the right pane. The device will appear as “Un-
known Device” or “WinUSB Device” or similar entry. (In the figure, the HB-PTB has al-
ready been installed.)

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• Right-click on the device entry in the folder and select “Update Driver Software…”

• In the window that appears click Browse my computer for driver software.

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• In the window that appears, click Browse and use the standard Windows browser dialog
that appears to navigate to and select the C:\RT-USB folder.

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• Click Next to start the installation. A warning will appear since the drive is not signed.
Click Install this driver software anyway to allow the driver installation to continue.

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• The driver installation will proceed. When the installation is complete, a window will ap-
pear that displays the “Radiant HVDM II” name indicating that the installation was suc-
cessful.

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• Close the window and the “Radiant HVDM II” instrument will appear in the Device
Manager as in the figure of step 2. The HB-PTB is now ready to use.

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High-Temperature Test Fixture (HTTF)

Two models of the High-Temperature Test Fixture (HTTF) - the 3" and 4" - are designed to per-
form high-voltage measurements at high temperatures in a furnace tube. The size of the test fix-
ture to be used depends on the diameter of the tube. The MACORTM ceramic used allows meas-
urements at up to ±10,000 Volts and 650° C.

MACORTM tube carry electrical connections between the High-Voltage Interface HV DRIVE
and HV RETURN ports to and from wing nuts on the test fixture. The HV DRIVE connection is
routed by the fixture to an embedded metal plate on which the sample sits. This plate makes elec-
trical connection to the sample bottom electrode. The HV RETURN signal is routed from a
plunger that lowers to engage the sample top electrode. The MACORTM tubes can pass through
the end of the furnace tube or through openings in a chamber door to engage the test fixture and
the sample.

High-Temperature Test Fixture (HTTF) Appearance

High-Temperature Test Fixture (HTTF) Electrical Connections.

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CS 2.5 Current Source

The CS 2.5 Current Source is a general-purpose current amplifier with a 2.0 A limit and a 4.0
A/V current gain factor. A 1.0 V/A monitor output allows the user to detect the actual current
being output by the CS 2.5. In addition to current output in response to voltage input, the CS 2.5
can be programatically ordered to a DC output current of a maximum of 2.0 A, with no voltage
input.

The CS 2.5 also offers two independently-programmable DC voltage output ports - Field Bias 1
and Field Bias 2 - with limits of ±10.0 Volts. Voltage output is also programmatically con-
trolled.

Although the CS 2.5 serves as a general-purpose current and voltage source, it was developed in
conjunction with the Magneto-Electric measurement bundle and is included in sales of the ME
bundle. In this use, the current output is fed through a commercial Helmholtz Coil that generates
a magnetic field that is linearly related to the current through the coil. A 6" Lakeshore MH-6
Helmholtz Coil, with a gain factor of approximately 26.0 G/A, is provided as standard with the
Magneto-Electric bundle.

In conjunction with the magnetic field application of the CS 2.5, the Field Bias-1 and Field Bias-
2 port are provided as input voltage to commercial current amplifiers that normally drive fixed
electromagnets. The standard sample response to a variable magnetic field generate in the Helm-
holz Coil is often taken inside a larger magnetic field generated by fixed electromagnets. Such
fixed magnets are not normally provided as part of the Magneto-Electric bundle.

The Vision program includes the following Tasks that directly control the CS 2.5 Current
Source:

• CS 2.5 DC Current/Magnetic Field - This Task generates a fixed DC current output of a
maximum of 2.0 A. The output may be specified in units of Current (A) or of Magnetic
Field (G). If Magnetic Field (G) is specified the user provides the Helmholtz Coil's Mag-
netic Field (G)/Current (A) gain ratio. For this Task the CS 2.5 generates its output cur-
rent (A) programmatically and takes no voltage input.
• CD 2.5 DC Voltage/Magnetic Field - The Task programatically generates fixed output
voltages at the CS 2.5 Field Bias - 1 and/or Field Bias - 2 ports. The output voltage may
be specified either in units of Volts or as Magnetic Field (G) with the electromagnet Field
(G)/Volt ratio specified.
• Magneto-Electric Response - This Task is similar to the Hysteresis Task. It generates a
charge response in the sample. In this case, the response is induced by a variable magnet-
ic field (G) from the Helmholtz coil, stimulated by a voltage input/current output at the
CS 2.5. The user must provide the desired maximum magnetic field (G), the Helmholtz
Coil's Field (G)/A ratio and the CS 2.5 Current (A)/Volt ratio. The Current (A)/Volt ratio
is stored in the CS 2.5 EEPROM and is updated automatically in the Task configuration
dialog. The current output of the CS 2.5 is stimulated by the tester's DRIVE port output,

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whose voltage DRIVE profile is determined by Vision based on the mentioned parame-
ters and ratios. The Task may also be configured to apply a DC magnetic field using
voltage-controlled electromagnets.
• Single-Point C/V (MR) - This is a conventional electrical single-point C/V measurement
that has the additional component in the ability to control a DC magnetic field though ex-
ternal electromagnets and the Field Bias - 1 or Field Bias - 2 port. The user may also opt
to apply a DC current programmatically.

CS 2.5 Current Source Appearance

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CS 2.5 Current Source Electrical Connections.

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RTI D2850C 8-Channel Multiplexer with Thermocouple
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RTI pMUX 2108 8-Channel Rack-Mounted Multiplexer with Thermocouple
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Precision Nano-Displacement Sensor (PNDS)
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I2C Voltage Controller (I2C DAC)

The I2C Voltage Controller is general-purpose voltage source/detector in the ±10.0-Volt range.

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E31
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Standard RTI Samples

AB/AD Capacitors - Packaged Ferroelectric Samples

Ferroelectric Component Technical Description
Each die is packaged in a four-lead TO-18 header. One lead connects to the case and is labeled
as GND. The common lead is connected to Pin 1. The two independent leads from the two ca-
pacitors are connected to Pins 2 and 4.

Figure h.1.1 – Available Ferroelectric Sample Pin-Out.

Temperature Range
-55°C to 125°C. Do not exceed 125°C.

Maximum Test Voltages
• Type AA/AB => 9V
• Type AC => 36V
• Type AD => 5V

Part Numbers
• "AA" => Die RC2-AAA 2700Å 4% niobium doped 20/80 PZT (4/20/80 PNZT)
• "AB" => Die RC2-AAA 2550Å undoped 20/80 PZT
• "AC" => Die RC2-AAA 1µ 4% niobium doped 20/80 PZT (4/20/80 PNZT)
• "AD" => Die RC2-AAA 1200Å 4% niobium doped 20/80 PZT (4/20/80 PNZT)

Capacitor: Capacitor Size:
Blue 100,000 µ2
Orange 40,000 µ2
White 10,000 µ2
Yellow 4,000 µ2
Black 1,000 µ2
Red 400µ2
Silver or Green 100µ2

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Total Lead Content per Package
• Type AA/AB =>1.62 micrograms
• Type AC =>6.48 micrograms
• Type AD =>0.69 micrograms

Recovery
The platinum electroded capacitors are prone to fatigue and imprint. They are tested at their satu-
ration voltage at packaging and may be imprinted when received. As well, they will imprint at
room temperature after use. There is a recovery procedure that will fully recover the capacitor
from imprint. As well, the recovery procedure will recover from 60% to 80% of fatigue loss. The
recovery procedure may be executed multiple times on a capacitor. To recover a capacitor, exe-
cute a 9V (Type AA or AB), 36V (Type AC) or 5V (Type AD) square wave at 1 Hz for 100 s on
each capacitor at room temperature.

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Magneto-Electric Samples
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Piezoelectric Samples
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Cantilevers
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Bulk Ceramic Disk
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Thin Film (AFM/PNDS)
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Precision Tester Internal Reference Elements

1.0 nF ±10% Commercial Linear Capacitor
2.5 MW ±1% Commercial Linear Resistor
Radiant Technologies, Inc. Type AB White RTI Ferroelectric
Ferroelectric Capacitor Capacitors

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