DIGITAL METERS

DIGITAL METER
Digital meter have better accuracy, greater easy of reading, and greater reliability. Analog meter respond faster for transient changes. Analog meter based on electromechanical movement as digital meters use alphanumeric display. Digital meters use ADC and digital processing circuit Digital meters can used for other functions also such as audio signal, frequency, period, temperature, true rms, checking h ki semiconductor i d t devices, d i four f wire i ohm h testing, capacitor measurements.

DIGITAL METER
AC Attenuator AC Converter Digital Processing g Digital Display

HI (+) Amp I Input t

AC DC Ohm
Ohm Converter DC Att Attenuator t

AC DC Ohm

A/D C Converter t

Output Ports (GPIB, RS 232)

Precision Shunts

Precision Reference

LO ( (-) )

Block Diagram

Digital AC Voltage
AC Attenuator AC Converter Digital Processing P i Digital Display

HIGH(+) Amp Input

AC DC Ohm
Ohm Converter DC Attenuator

AC DC Ohm

A/D Converter

Output Ports (GPIB, RS 232)

Precision Shunts

Precision Reference

LOW (-)

Digital DC Voltage
AC Attenuator AC Converter Digital Processing P i Digital Display

HIGH(+) Amp Input

AC

DC Ohm

DC DC Attenuator

AC DC Ohm

A/D Converter

Output Ports (GPIB, RS 232)

Precision Shunts

Ohm Converter

Precision Reference

LOW (-)

Digital Ohm Meter

AC Attenuator AC Converter Digital Processing P i Digital Display

HIGH(+) Amp Input

AC

DC Ohm

DC Attenuator

AC DC Ohm

A/D Converter

Output Ports (GPIB, RS 232)

Precision Shunts

ohm Ohm Converter

Precision Reference

LOW (-)

Digital Current Meter

AC Attenuator AC Converter Digital Processing P i Digital Display

HIGH(+) Amp Input

AC

DC Ohm

DC Attenuator

AC DC Ohm

A/D Converter

Output Ports (GPIB, RS 232)

Precision Shunts

Ohm Converter

Precision Reference

LOW (-)

Specifications of Digital Meters

Digits Display, Counts and Range
Digits 3 1/2 3 3/4 4 1/2 4 3/4 4 4/5 Counts 2000 4000 20000 40000 50000 Range 0 to 1999 0 to 3999 0 to 19999 0 to 39999 0 to 49999

The number of counts usually y applies pp to the DC volts function. Fewer counts may be displayed on the same instrument for certain other functions.

Accuracy
represents the uncertainty of a given measurement. Accuracy is expressed as:

% Reading + Offset or % Reading + (% Range) or (ppm of reading + ppm of range)

Problem:
Digital multimeter set to the 10 V range is expecting a 7 V signal. The accuracy specifications is (20 ppm of reading + 6 ppm of f range). ) Determine D t i accuracy of f th the digital di it l multimeter lti t under these conditions.

Solution
Accuracy = (ppm of reading + ppm of range) = (20 ppm of 7 V + 6 ppm of 10 V) = ((7 V(20/1,000,000) + (10 V(6/1,000,000)) = 200 V

Resolution
Resolution is the smallest change in an input signal that produces a change in the output signal. Resolution is expressed in terms of bits, digits, or absolute units, which can be related to each other.

Sensitivity
This is the smallest change of the measured signal that can be detected. It depends p on both resolution and the lowest measurement range of the instrument. Example: findout the sensitivity of a 5-1/2-digit DMM on the 200mV range. 1V

Speed and Settling Time

A settling time is time required by meter to give reading within specified error. error The measurement speeds of instrument is independent of the settling time. For high resolution meters, it may be necessary to allow time for input settling in order to achieve full rated accuracy.

Average g / True RMS Meter

Most DMMs give accurate RMS readings if the ac signal is a pure sine wave. They measure the average of the absolute value of f AC signal i l and d are calibrated lib d to the h RMS value l for a sine wave. Quality DMMs display the true RMS (root mean square) value of input waveforms.

Crest Factor
Crest factor is defined as the ratio of the peak or "crest" voltage l to the h RMS voltage. l Crest factor should be considered when making AC voltage measurements of non-sinusoidal waveforms. This specification is important because it indicates the maximum peak value of an arbitrary waveform that the h DMM can handle h dl without ih overloading l di with i h much h smaller rms value. The crest factor also affects the accuracy of the AC measurement. measurement

Crest Factor
Example: Given a certain DMM with an AC accuracy of 0.03% (this is always specified for sine waves), and has an additional error of 0.2% for crest factors between 1.414 and 5. Find the accuracy of triangular wave measurement. t The total accuracy for measuring a triangular wave (crest factor = 1.73) is 0.03% + 0.2% = 0.23%.

Waveform

Crest Factor1

Form Factor2

Actual Pk-Pk

Actual Peak

Actual RMS

TRMS AC+DC

TRMS AC Only 0 0.707 0.577 1 000 1.000 0.707

Avg Readi ng 0 0.707 0.555 1 111 1.111 0.707

Error For Avg.

DC Sine Triangle Square Sine+1 VDC Pulse* (25%) Pulse* (12.5%) Pulse* (6.25%)

n/a 1.414 1.732 1 000 1.000 2.829

n/a 1.110 1.155 1 000 1.000 1.731

n/a 2.000 2.000 2 000 2.000 2.000

n/a 1.000 1.000 1 000 1.000 2.000

1.000 0.707 0.577 1 000 1.000 1.224

1.000 0.707 0.577 1 000 1.000 1.224

0% 0% -3.8% +11 1% +11.1% -42.2%

2.000

1.202

1.000

1.000

0.500

0.500

0.433

0.416

-3.8%

2 833 2.833

1 453 1.453

1 000 1.000

1 000 1.000

0 353 0.353

0 353 0.353

0 331 0.331

0 243 0.243

-26 5% -26.5%

4.000

1.923

1.000

1.000

0.250

0.250

0.242

0.130

-46.2%

*Positive going pulse between 0 and 1Volt, 1Ratio of peak to RMS, 2Ratio of RMS to average

Specifications of DMM Many True RMS DMMs are not capable of measuring the True RMS value of the combined AC+DC. A few DMMs offer the ability to select average, AC TRMS, or AC+DC TRMS thus allowing the user to choose the optimum mode for the desired measurement. t True RMS conversion is normally yp performed by y an expensive dedicated chip.

Signal Processing for rms Value

Input X2 Mean RMS of Input

RMS Conversion Block Diagram

Input Log Amp. X2 Antilog

Averaging Filter

Log

Amp. X0 0.5 5

Antilog

RMS of Input

Chip architecture for RMS conversion

Input X2 Mean

RMS of Input

RMS Conversion Block Diagram

Input Log Amp. X2 Antilog

Averaging Filter

Log

Amp. X 0.5 0

Antilog

RMS of Input

Implementation approach of RMS Conversion

Zero or Offset Zero or offset should be removed the measurement, otherwise they introduce a fixed error (in terms of volts, volts amps or ohms) throughout the measurement range.

Frequency Response Frequency response is a measure of the d i i deviation f from an assumed d flat fl response over specific frequency bands and may be specified ifi d in i ppm or %. % Depending on the RMS conversion t h i technique used, d a DMMs DMM AC response can suffer from low frequency problems as well as high hi h frequency f roll-off. ll ff

Input Resistance
The parameter describes loading effect of the DMM on the test circuit. For o DC C vo voltage ge up to o 20 0 V, the e input pu resistance es s ce may y be greater than 1012 . For AC voltage, the resistance is usually be lower - typically 1M in parallel with 150 pF capacitor. capacitor At high frequencies the input impedance reduces. I Input tF Frequency 100 Hz 1 kHz 10 kHz 100 kHz I Input tR Resistance it 1 M. 850 k. 160 k. 16 k.

I Input t Bi Bias C Current t Sensitive DMM design seeks to minimize leakage current by component selection and careful circuit design. A small current of 10 pA flowing in a 1M resistance develops a voltage of 10 mV. mV A modern sensitive DMM is expected to have an input p bias current of <50 p pA.

Auto ranging

It is process to auto range selection. Input voltage is compared with the full scale of the next lower range. If the present reading is less than the full scale of the next lower range, the attenuation is reduced. Otherwise attenuation is increased.

Four-Wire Remote Sensing Better than two wire sensing.

Rlead Voltage measuring circuit of DMM I=IO I=IO Rlead RU

IO

I=IO

Two Wire Resistance Measurement

Rlead Voltage measuring circuit of DMM I=IO I=IO Rlead RU

IO

I=IO

Neglecting DMM input resistance is normally very large. The measured voltage is given by the following equation. Vmeasured = I x ( RU + 2Rlead) Therefore, Rmeasured = (Vmeasured / I) = ( RU + 2Rlead) Error in measurement is 2Rlead.

4-Wire Remote Sensing

Source Voltage g measuring g circuit of DMM S Sense Sense IO Source I=IO Rlead Rlead I=IO Rlead l d I=IO Rlead

I 0 I=0 I=0

RU

No current flows through the sense leads. DMM measures the voltage developed across the unknown resistor only. Therefore, Rmeasured = RU = Vmeasured / IO This more accurate method is recommended for measuring resistance below 100 ohms.

Environmental Specifications The environmental concerns for DMMs are 1. Temperature 2. Humidity 3. Altitude 4. Shock 5. Vibration.

Safety Ratings New DMMs must conform to an IEC 1010-1 standard. (I t (International ti l Electrotechnical El t t h i l Commission) C i i )

Steps in Selecting a DMM

Analyze the Device Under Test
What variables are to be tested?

Analyze the Test Environment

What are the hardware and software interface issues?

What is the range of signal values?

What are the noise problems?

What are the accuracy, resolution and sensitivity requirements?

What are throughput requirements?

the

What special DUT characteristics should be considered?

What many DUTs are to be tested?

What special are necessary?

features

How cost effective is the solution?

R di A Reading Assignment i t
2.2 : Digital-To-Analog Converter 2.3 2 3 : Analog Analog-To-Digital To Digital Converter