The 2981C Femto/Picoammeter delivers best-in-class performance along with innovative features designed to enhance measurement reliability and simplify complex tasks. With a minimum current resolution of 0.01 fA (10⁻¹⁷ A), it effectively addresses nearly all present and future requirements for low-level current measurements. Its intuitive 4.3-inch color LCD graphical user interface (GUI) supports versatile data visualization, allowing users to view measurements numerically or graphically as trends or histograms. This real-time graphical capability aids in quickly capturing transient behaviors and performing immediate statistical analyses without needing external software. To further ensure accurate measurements, the 2981C provides features for verifying the integrity of external cables and fixtures. The optional Setup Integrity Checker software enables users to compare noise characteristics across different cabling setups, efficiently pinpointing and addressing areas susceptible to interference. Additionally, the instrument offers user-friendly measurement-assist functions, enabling users with minimal electrical engineering background to easily conduct advanced electrical characterizations.

B2980C Series Keysight B2981C Femto/Picoammeter

The B2980C Series of Femto/Picoammeters and Electrometers/High Resistance Meters not only offer best-in-class measurement performance, but also provide unprecedented features to maximize your measurement confidence. To provide flexibility and enable you to purchase an instrument with the exact amount of testing capability for your needs, the Keysight B2980C series offers four product versions: B2981C, B2983C, B2985C and B2987C.

Series Highlights

The Importance of 0.01 fA Resolution

Many applications in materials science and device characterization demand the capability to measure extremely small currents, which standard digital multimeters (DMMs) are not equipped to handle. The B2980C series, with its exceptional 0.01 fA current measurement resolution available in both its Femto/Picoammeter and Electrometer models, enables highly precise and detailed measurements that conventional picoammeters and electrometers could not achieve. As a result, it guarantees reliable performance for your current measurement needs well into the future.

Time Domain View (Roll View) to Visually Capture Data

The B2980C series’ graphical user interface (GUI) features a Roll View that continuously displays data as it is collected and can store up to 100,000 data points for future access. With a maximum sampling rate of 100 kHz, Roll View enables real-time monitoring of measurement trends, offering valuable insights into the behavior of your device under test (DUT). To streamline data analysis, the B2980C series includes versatile graphing tools. In Graph View, electrometers can display I-V curves using data from either the internal voltage source or voltage measurements. Additionally, users can effortlessly generate various X-Y plots, including I-t, V-t, R-t, Q-t, and I-R, depending on the specific model’s graphical capabilities. These robust visualization tools enhance your ability to interpret and analyze sensitive measurements with precision.

The Navigation Feature – Range vs. Aperture Curves

The B2980C series features an innovative measurement navigation capability that optimizes aperture time and measurement range using three pre-programmed curves—”Normal,” “Stable,” and “Quick”—to cover typical measurement scenarios. By default, the “Normal” curve is selected, but users can quickly switch to “Stable” for reduced noise through longer aperture times or to “Quick” for faster, approximate measurements. This intuitive navigation simplifies low-level measurements, enabling even novice engineers and researchers to achieve accurate results effortlessly, while experienced users retain the flexibility to override settings manually as needed.

B2980C Series’ Noise Floor

The B2980C series, with its advanced design, delivers superior current measurement performance compared to traditional picoammeters and electrometers, even in AC mode at a 0.1 PLC integration time. The B2980C series achieves both lower noise and faster measurements, significantly reducing the typical compromise between speed and measurement accuracy.

Real-Time Histogram Feature

All low-level measurements inherently involve statistical uncertainty due to environmental fluctuations, traditionally addressed by evaluating data histograms post-measurement on a PC—a tedious approach when debugging multiple measurement setups. The B2980C simplifies this by offering a real-time, auto-scalable histogram that continuously updates mean and sigma values, enabling instant debugging without post-measurement analysis. Additionally, the histogram can be viewed alongside live numeric data in the Meter View, supporting up to 100,000 data points.

What’s in the Box