Our N7900A Advanced Power System (APS) is well named,
being the most advanced power product we’ve introduced to date. In many ways it
is based on our N6700 series modular DC power system and N6705B DC power
analyzer, incorporating their capabilities, including:
- High precision programming and measurement
- Seamless measurement ranging
- High speed measurement digitization of voltage, current, and power
- Long term data logging of voltage, current, and power
- Output ARB and List capabilities
- And quite a bit more
In addition the N7900A APS brings quite a few new and
unique capabilities as well, including:
- Much greater output power
- Logic-configurable expression signal routing for advanced custom triggering and control
- Optional external dissipater unit for full two quadrant operation
- Optional black box recorder for post-test diagnostics when needed
- And quite a bit more
To take advantage of these advance capabilities does
require a bit of programming, which is to generally be expected for an
automated test environment, but in low volume design validation and R&D this
can slow down the desired quick time-to-result. The N6705B DC Power Analyzer,
in Figure 1, has a full-featured front panel menu and graphical display that
lets design validation and R&D users quickly configure and run complex
power-related tests on their devices. In comparison, the N6700 series, pictured
in Figure 2, does not have all the front panel capabilities of the N6705B and
can be looked on as the ATE version of this product platform, requiring
programming to take advantage of its advanced capabilities. The N6705B shares
all the same DC power modules that the N6700 series uses.
Figure 1: The N6705B DC Power Analyzer, primarily for
bench use
Figure 2: The N6700 series Modular DC Power System,
primarily for ATE
The N7900A APS is very similar in form and function to the
N6700 series, not having all the advanced front panel capabilities that the
N6705B has for bench-friendly use of its advanced features. I am really pleased
to be able to share with you that this is now changing! While we are not
creating a bench version of the N7900 APS, we are upgrading our 14585A Control
and Analysis software, which emulates the front panel of an N6705B and more, to
work with the N7900 APS as well. The 14585A will soon let you quickly and
easily create and configure complex power-related tests based on using the N7900
APS. I am fortunate enough to be working
with a beta version of the software. Some examples of things I was able to do
in just a few minutes were to capture the inrush current of an automotive
headlight, shown in Figure 3, and superimpose an AC sine wave disturbance on
top of the DC output, shown in Figure 4.
Figure 3: Auto headlamp inrush current captured with
14585A software and N7951A APS
Figure 4: Sine wave voltage disturbance on top of DC generated
by 14585A software and N7951A APS