Section 4: Sourcing and measuring Model 2601B-PULSE System SourceMeter Instrument Reference Manual
4-50 2601B-PULSE-901-01A April 2020
Basic power measurement procedure
If you need to customize the standard wattmeter configuration of the MODE key, perform the
following steps to make power measurements. The following procedure assumes that the
2601B-PULSE is already connected to the device under test (DUT) as explained in DUT test
connections (on page 4-6).
Hazardous voltages may be present on all output and guard terminals. To prevent electrical
shock that could cause injury or death, never make or break connections to the 2601B-PULSE
while the output is on. Turn off the equipment from the front panel or disconnect the main
power cord from the rear of the 2601B-PULSE before handling cables. Putting the equipment
into an output-off state does not guarantee that the outputs are powered off if a hardware or
software fault occurs.
To perform power measurements from the front panel:
1. Set source function and value. Press the SRC key to select the voltage or current source function
as required.
2. Set the output voltage or current to an appropriate value. See Step 1 of Front-panel
source-measure procedure (on page 4-30).
3. Press the LIMIT key and set the voltage or current limit high enough for the expected voltage or
current across the DUT to be measured. See Step 2 of Front-panel source-measure procedure
(on page 4-30).
4. Press the MEAS key as many times as needed to display power.
5. Press the OUTPUT ON/OFF control to turn the output on.
6. View the displayed reading (press the TRIG key if necessary).
7. When finished, press the OUTPUT ON/OFF control again to turn the output off.
Power measurements using the remote interface
The following paragraphs summarize basic power measurement commands using the remote
interface and also give a programming example for a typical power measurement situation.
Remote power reading command
The programming example below illustrates how to get a power reading:
reading = smua.measure.p()
See Remote source-measure commands (on page 4-31) for more commands necessary to set up
source and measure functions and also Introduction to TSP operation (on page 9-1).