Keithley SMUs emulate classic curve tracers with new software

Tektronix brings many of the key features loved in classic curve tracers to Keithley SourceMeter source measure units (SMUs) with the release of its Keithley I-V Tracer software. Tektronix introduced the industry’s first curve tracer in 1955 to display characteristic curves for vacuum tubes. This was followed by models for testing transistors, diodes, and other solid-state devices. Production of the curve tracers stopped in the mid-1980s.

Approximating a power supply and an oscilloscope packaged in the same box, curve tracers source voltage while plotting voltage versus current, said Joseph Gorley, product manager at Keithley. Because an SMU can source voltage or current while measuring voltage and current, it has similar hardware qualities to a curve tracer, he added.

The new software leverages the touchscreen interface of 2400 Series graphical SMUs to recreate the familiar user experience of a curve tracer for low-power two-terminal devices. The Keithley I-V Tracer uses the full capabilities of supported SMUs, including the dual high-speed digitizers of the Keithley 2461, to perform tracing with AC polarity and pulsed DC, in addition to standard DC polarity.

The Keithly I-V Tracer is priced at $1,499 plus the cost of the SMU. See the software in action here.

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