This laboratory deals with non-destructive diagnostics of electrical components, sensors, electric insulators and building materials. It uses observation of transport and fluctuation processes, as well as acoustic and electromagnetic emission.
Main activities
Non-destructive diagnostics of materials (semiconductors, insulators) and components (diodes, transistors, solar cells and panels, sensors), characterization of parameters, diagnostics of defects, study of structure properties during operation in extreme conditions, model design, parameter optimization.
Monitoring the formation and localization of cracks in polymer and cement composites and rocks under mechanical loading using electromagnetic and acoustic emission.
Laboratory equipment
PXI Module
Keithley 2510-AT Autotuning TEC Source Meter (2ks), Keithley 2502 dual channel picoammetr, Keithley 6220 precision current source, Keithley 2420 Source Meter, Keithley 2602A System Source Meter.
A set of six Keithley meters were purchased as part of the tender process to be assembled into a PXI standard assembly, an open platform for programmable automation in measurement and automation systems, which is required for analysis and research in optoelectronic parameter measurement, including the required stability and accuracy of the power supply.
Two Keithley 2510-ATs are instruments used for testing laser diode modules. The Keithley 2502 (Dual-Channel Picoammeter) offers two independent picoammeter voltage sources for a wide range of low-level parameter measurement including laser diode testing. The Keithley 6220 is an easy-to-use current source with extremely low noise. The Keithley 2420 is a specialty instrument designed for special test applications that require hard-coupled sources of various Keithley models. This model provides accurate voltage and a very stable current source. The Keithley 2602A is an instrument and primarily a system tool for measuring Volt-Ampere characteristics of prospective components according to current trends in industry.
The Keithley family of instruments of various models will be assembled and automated in a measurement block called the PXI module. The module will be used as a very stable, low-noise source and parameter meter for components and elements as required by research and industry, with a focus on semiconductor technology, nanotechnology and superconducting materials. The module will be used with built-in control functions, including Hall constant measurements, resistance measurements using delta mode, pulse measurements and differential conductivity measurements.
PXI Module complete set of Keithley devices
Signal source analyser
FSV Signal source analyser 10Hz – 36 GHz.
This is a high-end spectrum analyser designed for research and development purposes and other applications with high demands for precision measurements over a wide frequency range from tens of Hz to units of GHz. The uniqueness of the analyser lies in the parameters achieved in the required frequency spectrum, especially in the high dynamic range of measurements, with guaranteed high accuracy of voltage and frequency measurements, which is predetermined by the high noise immunity of the used elements in the signal part of the instrument.
The spectrum analyser is most often used to study RF current fluctuations. These are formed when significant electrical stress is applied to structures in an electric field. At the same time, the frequency range of this instrument makes it possible to monitor sources of interference that were previously indistinguishable.
The analyser is now used to measure the surface resistivity of materials when excited at 2.4 GHz. Pilot experiments have been carried out and it has been shown that homogeneity and the presence of defect regions can be monitored in this way. For the time being, the contacting of the observed structures is carried out in the contacting station with coplanar probes.
Signal source analyser
Fast dual V-A characteristic meter in pulse mode
Keithley 4200.
The Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System enables DC and pulse characteristics measurement, real-time graph drawing and analysis with high accuracy and resolution below femtoamperes. The 4200-SCS offers the most advanced features available in a fully integrated characterization system, including a full-featured Windows PC and sufficient HDD.
The C-V module allows C-V measurements to be made as easily as DC I-V
As far as pulse options and pulse I-V characteristic measurement capabilities for advanced semiconductor testing go, the PC design allows for quick test setup, fast data analysis, graph drawing and eventual printing, and ample space for storing test results thanks to the HDD.
The Keithley 4200-SCS tester is an intuitive fully integrated characterization system. It contains four independent SMU sources, one even with a preamplifier allowing measurement of very small currents in the order of femtoamperes (depending on the quality of the cabling used). It is mainly used to measure DC and pulse characteristics of semiconductor devices. Its great advantages are the speed of the measured data and its real-time display in a graph and its simple operation via the Windows XP operating system.
We work closely with ON Semiconductor, the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer, for whom we measure the temperature dependence of the output and transport characteristics of submicron MOSFET transistors.
Semiconductor Characterization System
