Chapter 2 -- Introduction--About this Manual
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Chapter 2 -- Introduction
About this Manual
This manual covers the installation, safety, and use of the Gamry Instruments Reference 3000
Potentiostat/Galvanostat/ZRA. It also includes information about the Reference 3000’s AE Auxiliary
Electrometer option.
This manual describes use of a Reference 3000 with Revision 6.00 (and later revisions) of the Gamry
Framework software. It is equally useful when setting up a newly purchased potentiostat or modifying the setup
of an older potentiostat for use with new software.
Chapter 1 was an in-depth discussion of safety issues. This chapter describes this manual and gives a brief
overview of the Reference 3000 features. Chapter 3 is a description of the electronics circuitry in the Reference
3000. Chapter 4 contains Reference 3000 installation instructions. Chapter 5 describes cell cable connections
and Chapter 6 describes the Reference 3000’s Front and Rear Panels. Chapter 7 discusses the AE Auxiliary
Electrometer option. Chapter 8 covers the difficult issues of potentiostat stability and approaches to prevent
oscillation. Chapter 9 discusses the realities of low current, high impedance measurements while Chapter 10
does the same for low impedance EIS.
You will find dry technical material such as specifications and connector pin-outs in the Appendices.
This manual does not discuss software installation or software operation in any detail.
Software support for the Reference 3000 is described in the Gamry Framework’s Help system.
All the Gamry Instruments' applications running under the Gamry Framework, control the Reference 3000 via a
PSTAT object. See the Framework’s Help system for information concerning PSTAT objects and their functions.
About the Reference 3000
The Reference 3000 Potentiostat is a research grade electrochemical instrument packaged in a small, easy to
handle case. It is the larger, higher current brother of Gamry’s extremely popular Reference 600 Potentiostat.
It is especially useful when currents higher than the 600 mA current limit of the Reference 600 are required.
Typical applications for the Reference 3000 include research regarding batteries, fuel cells and super-capacitors.
It should also prove useful in studies involving electrochemical synthesis, electroplating and corrosion. While it
can apply and measure ampere level currents, it is also an excellent small signal potentiostat that can work with
picoamp and sometimes even femtoamp current levels.
The Reference 3000 offers measurement capabilities similar to instruments many times larger in size, weight
and price. The Reference 3000 can operate as a potentiostat, a galvanostat, or a ZRA (zero resistance
ammeter). A new stack mode allows precision control and/or measurement of battery stack voltages as large as
± 36 volts.
The Reference 3000 offers two different compliance voltage and compliance current settings. A user can
choose to operate the Reference 3000 set for compliance of ± 1.5 Amperes and voltages up to ± 30 Volts or
he/she can chose to operate at ± 3 Amperes and voltages up to ± 15 Volts. This setting cannot be changed in
the middle of an experimental run.
Reference 3000 features include:
• 11 decade current auto-ranging,
• electrical isolation from earth ground,
• switchable compliance current and compliance voltage settings,
• current interrupt iR compensation, and
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