4: Theory of operation Series 2600B System SourceMeter® Instrument
4-12 2600BS-901-01 Rev. B / May 2013
I-source operating boundaries
Models 2601B/2602B/2604B I-source operating boundaries
The following figure shows the operating boundaries for the I-source. Only the first quadrant of
operation is shown; operation in the other three quadrants is similar.
The first graph in the figure (marked "A: Output characteristics") shows the output characteristics for
the I-source. As shown, the Models 2601B, 2602B and 2604B can output up to 1.01 A at 40 V, or
3.03 A at 6 V. Note that when sourcing more than 1.01 A, voltage is limited to 6 V.
The second graph in the figure (marked "B: Limit lines") shows the limit lines for the I-source. The
current source limit line represents the maximum source value possible for the presently selected
current source range. The voltage compliance limit line represents the actual compliance that is in
effect (see Limits (on page 2-27
)). These limit lines are boundaries that represent the operating limits
of the System SourceMeter
®
instrument for this quadrant of operation. The operating point can be
anywhere inside (or on) these limit lines. The limit line boundaries for the other quadrants are similar.