6220 Keithley DC Precision Current Source

The Tektronix / Keithley 6220/6221 Series Current Sources combine ease of use with low current noise. Low current sourcing is critical to applications in test environments ranging from R&D to production, especially in the semiconductor, nanotechnology, and superconductor industries. High sourcing accuracy and built-in control functions make the 6220 and 6221 ideal for applications like Hall measurements, resistance measurements using delta mode, pulsed measurements, and differential conductance measurements.

Device testing and characterization for today's very small and power-efficient electronics requires sourcing low current levels, which demands the use of a precision, low current source. Lower stimulus currents produce lower, and harder to measure, voltages across the device. Combining the 6220 or 6221 with a 2182A Nanovoltmeter makes it possible to address both of these challenges.

Before the introduction of the 6221, researchers and engineers were forced to build their own AC current sources. This cost-effective source provides better accuracy, consistency, reliability, and robustness than "home-made" solutions. The 6221 greatly simplifies creating and outputting complex waveforms.

Both current sources are fully programmable via the front panel controls or from an external controller via RS-232 or GPIB interfaces; the 6221 also features an ethernet interface for remote control from anywhere there's an ethernet connection. Both instruments can source DC currents from 100fA to 105mA; the 6221 can also source AC currents from 4pA to 210mA peak to peak. The output voltage compliance of either source can be set from 0.1V to 105V in 10mV steps. Voltage compliance (which limits the amount of voltage applied when sourcing a current) is critical for applications in which overvoltages could damage the device under test (DUT).

These instruments build upon Tektronix / Keithley's 220 Programmable Current Source; a 220 emulation mode makes it easy to replace a 220 with a 6220/6221 in an existing application without rewriting the control code.

Both the 6220 and 6221 offer tools for defining current ramps and stepping through predefined sequences of up to 65,536 output values using a trigger or a timer. Both sources support linear, logarithmic, and custom sweeps.