The Keithley 2601B System Sourcemeter SMU is a single-channel instrument that combines four-quadrant voltage and current sourcing with 6½-digit measurement resolution in one unit. It functions simultaneously as a precision power supply, electronic load, digital multimeter, and arbitrary waveform generator. The instrument delivers up to 40.4 W per channel and supports DC current sourcing to 3 A with pulse capabilities reaching 10 A. Built-in Test Script Processing (TSP) technology enables embedded test automation without external controllers, while TSP-Link expansion allows parallel multi-channel operation. The optional 2601B-PULSE variant includes dual 1 MS/s 18-bit digitizers for simultaneous current and voltage waveform capture during pulse testing.
Technical Specifications
Voltage Source/Measure
• Range: ±100 mV to ±40 V
• Resolution: 100 nV
• Accuracy (1 Year): ±(0.015% + 150 µV) @ 100 mV range; ±(0.015% + 200 µV) @ 1 V range; ±(0.015% + 1 mV) @ 6 V range; ±(0.015% + 8 mV) @ 40 V range
Current Source/Measure
• DC Range: 100 nA to 3 A
• Pulse Range: Up to 10 A
• Resolution: 100 fA
• DC Accuracy (1 Year): ±(0.17% + 1 mA) @ 1 A and 5 A ranges; ±(0.22% + 1 mA) @ 10 A range
Electrical Performance
• Source current settling time: < 9 µs (1 A – 10 A range, typical)
• Transient response: < 70 µs to 0.1% recovery
• Current regulation (line): 0.01% of range
• Current regulation (load): ±100 µA
• Output overshoot: < ±0.5% of step size
Power Budget
• Total: 200 W
• Per channel maximum: 40.4 W
• DC capability: 40 W
Pulse Specifications (2601B-PULSE)
• Output: 10 A @ 10 V minimum
• Pulse width range: 10 µs to 500 µs
• Pulse width accuracy: ±200 ns
• Rise time (10% to 90%): < 1.7 µs
• Termination: Within 3 µs after abort threshold
• Inductive load handling: Up to 3 μH without tuning
• Digitizers: Dual 1 MS/s, 18-bit simultaneous measurement
– Key Features
• Four-quadrant source and measure capability
• TSP embedded programming for test automation
• TSP-Link expansion for multi-channel parallel testing
• 2400 SourceMeter SMU software emulation for legacy code migration
• USB 2.0, LXI-C, GPIB, RS-232, and digital I/O connectivity
• Web browser remote control
• IVy mobile app support for I-V characterization
– Typical Applications
• Device characterization and curve tracing
• Component leakage and breakdown testing
• Production test of discrete semiconductors
• Power device evaluation
• Pulse and transient response measurement
– Compatibility & Integration
The 2601B integrates with TSP-Link for scalable multi-channel configurations without mainframe requirements. It maintains backward compatibility with Keithley 2400 SourceMeter test code and interfaces with LXI-C networked test environments.
