Electrical Measurements

Voltage

Use the measure command to test voltages on these PLT signals:

measure voltage channels

channel	PLT Signal	Method	Max Voltage
voltageDATP00	DATP00	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP01	DATP01	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP02	DATP02	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP03	DATP03	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP04	DATP04	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP05	DATP05	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP06	DATP06	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP07	DATP07	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP08	DATP08	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP09	DATP09	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP10	DATP10	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP11	DATP11	ADC	5.5V
voltageDATP12	DATP12	ADC	5.5V
voltageDMM	DATPxx/DDTPxx	DMM	100V
voltageMUX0	MUX0	ADC	5.5V
voltageMUX1	MUX1	ADC	5.5V
voltageMUX2	MUX2	ADC	5.5V
voltageMUX3	MUX3	ADC	5.5V

Caution

In order to avoid damage to the PLT, take care that signals are below the Max Voltage for the selected measurement channel.

Example PLT test plan: Measure Voltages

title: Measure Voltages
suite:
- title: Measure DATPxx Voltages
  steps:
  # On the PLT-300A, it's necessary to connect DATP00 ... DATP06 to the mux before using voltageDATP00 ... voltageDATP06
  - command: mux connect DATP05
  - command: mux connect DATP06
  - command: measure voltageDATP05 3.1-3.4V
  - command: measure voltageDATP06 0.5-1.2V
  - command: measure voltageDATP07 200-3500mV
  - command: measure voltageDATP08 -0.2-0.1V
  - command: measure voltageDATP09 0-4V
  - command: measure voltageDATP10 -0.1-3.3V
  - command: measure voltageDATP11 0-3.4V
  - command: measure voltageDATP12 -0.1-3.4V
- title: Measure MUXx Voltages
  steps:
  - command: mux 0 DATP00
  - command: mux 1 DATP01
  - command: mux 2 RATP00
  - command: mux 3 RATP17
  - command: measure voltageMUX0 >1V
  - command: measure voltageMUX1 <3300mV
  - command: measure voltageMUX2 >100mV
  - command: measure voltageMUX3 1500-1800mV

Example: Use DMM to measure voltages >5V.

title: "Measure High Voltages"
suite:
- title: Measure
  steps:
  # Check 24V rail, relative to GND4.
  - command: measure voltageDMM DATP00 22.8-25.2V
    ground: GND4
  # Check 12V rail, relative to PLT system GND.
  - command: measure voltageDMM DATP01 11-13V

Commands

• mux - Multiplex Control

• measure - Probe Measurement

Voltage (differential)

Example: Measure differential voltage between DATP00 and DATP01

title: "Measure differential"
suite:
- title: Measure
  steps:
  - command: measure voltageDiff DATP00-DATP01 >10mV

Current Draw

Use the measure command with current draw on these power rails:

measure current channels

channel	Power Rail	Method
current1V8	1V8	ADC
current3V3	3V3	ADC
current5V	5V	ADC
currentVARV	VARV	ADC
currentDMM	1V8, 3V3, 5V, VARV, 12V, or 24V	DMM

Example PLT test plan: Measure Current Draw

title: Measure Current Draw
suite:
- title: Measure Currents
  steps:
  - command: measure current3V3 <1A
  - command: measure current5V 0.1-0.5A
  - command: measure currentVARV >100mA
  - command: measure currentDMM 1V8 <100mA
  - command: measure currentDMM 5V 0.1-0.5A

Note

The currentDMM measurement channel is only available on the PLT-300A.

Commands

• mux - Multiplex Control

• short - Connect Multiplex channels

• sleepms - Delay

• measure - Probe Measurement

Resistance

To measure resistance, use the measure command with the resistance or impedance channel.

The resistance channel measures resistance between the specified signal and the current system ground or a specified ground.

The impedance channel measures between the RA an RVREF PLT signals, which must be connected to the signals of interest, before performing the measurement.

We recommend using the resistance channel, unless compatibility with the PLT-200A is required.

Example test plan: Measure Resistance

title: Measure Resistance
suite:
- title: Measure Resistance
  steps:
  # Measure resistance between DATP01 and system ground, with 5V reference
  - command: measure resistance DATP01 45-48kOhm 5V
  # Measure resistance between GND3 and DATP01
  - command: measure resistance DATP04 <50kOhm
    ground: GND3
  # Measure resistance between DATP02 and system ground, auto-ranging disabled.
  - command: measure resistance DATP02 9-11kOhm
    with:
      - disableAutoRange

Example test plan: Measure Resistance

title: Measure Resistance
suite:
- title: Measure Resistance
  steps:
  - command: mux 0 RATP02
  - command: mux 1 RATP18
  - command: mux 2 RA
  - command: mux 3 RVREF
  - command: short 0 2 set
  - command: short 1 3 set
  - command: measure impedance 750-1000mOhm 3.3V
  - command: short 0 2 release
  - command: short 1 3 release
  - command: sleepms 1500
  - command: measure impedance 2-10Ohm 3300

Commands

• mux - Multiplex Control

• short - Connect Multiplex channels

• sleepms - Delay

• measure - Probe Measurement

Capacitance

To measure capacitance, use the measure command with the capacitance channel.

The capacitance measurement will be performed between the specified signal and ground. If no ground is specified, the system ground will be used.

Note

Capacitance measurement is only available on the PLT-300A.

Example PLT test plan: Measure Capacitance

title: Measure Capacitance
suite:
- title: Measure Capacitance
  steps:
  - command: ground 1
  - command: measure capacitance DATP01 <15nF
  - command: measure capacitance DDTP05 <150nF
  - command: measure capacitance DATP02 0.5-1.5uF
    ground: GND3

Commands

• measure - Probe Measurement

• ground - Ground Selection

Continuity

To measure continuity, use the measure command with the continuity channel.

Continuity is measured between the specified signal and ground. If no ground is specified, the system ground will be used.

Note

Continuity measurement is only available on the PLT-300A.

Example PLT test plan: Measure Continuity to Ground

title: Measure Continuity to Ground
suite:
- title: Measure Continuity to Ground
  steps:
  # Check continuity between DATP01 and system ground.
  - command: measure continuity DATP01 true
  # Check that there is no continuity between DDTP05 and system ground.
  - command: measure capacitance DDTP05 false
  # Check continuity between DATP02 and GND3.
  - command: measure capacitance DATP02 true
    ground: GND3

Example PLT test plan: Measure Continuity DATP00 and DATP01

title: Measure Continuity DATP00 and DATP01
suite:
- title: Measure Continuity DATP00 and DATP01
  steps:
  # Route DATP00 to MUX0 and DATP01 to MUX1
  - command: mux 0 DATP00
  - command: mux connect DATP00
  - command: mux 1 RVREF
  # Connect MUX0 and MUX1
  - command: short 0 1 set
  # Check continuity between DATP01 and system ground.
  - command: measure continuity DATP01 true
    ground: RVREF

Commands

• measure - Probe Measurement

• mux - Multiplex Control

• short - Connect Multiplex channels

Digital

Use the measure command with the pin channel to test the value of digital inputs.

Example PLT test plan: Digital pin measurements

title: Digital pin measurements
suite:
- ident: ICT-T1
  title: Configure Digital pins as inputs
  steps:
  - command: pin RDTP21 input pullup
  - command: pin DDTP04 input
- ident: ICT-T2
  title: Read Digital pins
  steps:
  - command: measure pin RDTP21 low
  - command: measure pin DDTP04 high

Commands

• pin - Digital pin control

• measure - Probe Measurement

• mux - Multiplex Control

Frequency

Use the measure command with the frequency channel to test measure frequency.

The frequency measurement will be performed on either the CLK0 or CLK1 PLT signal, which must be selected with the freq command, before performing the measurement.

Example PLT test plan: Measure CLK0 frequency

 title: Measure CLK0 frequency
 suite:
 - title: Measure CLK0 frequency
   steps:
   - command: freq 0
   - command: sleepms 1000
   - command: measure frequency 32.75-32.78kHz

Example PLT test plan: Measure CLK1 frequency

 title: Measure CLK1 frequency
 suite:
 - title: Measure CLK1 frequency
   steps:
   - command: freq 1
   - command: sleepms 1000
   - command: measure frequency 7.90-8.10MHz

Measure frequency with duty cycle.

Note

Duty Cycle parameter only available on PLT-300A. Duty Cycle check only supported up to 60kHz.

Example PLT test plan: Measure CLK1 frequency with Duty Cycle

 title: Measure CLK1 frequency
 suite:
 - title: Measure CLK1 frequency
   steps:
   - command: freq 1
   - command: sleepms 1000
   - command: measure frequency 49.9-50.1KHz
     with:
     - dutyCycle 49-51%

Commands

• freq - Frequency Monitor Control

• measure - Probe Measurement

• sleepms - Delay

See also

• PLT-300A Reference > Probes and Signals

Continuous Measurement

The PLT can take continuous electrical measurements. Instead of a single measurement, signals are sampled continuously to evaluate mean, min, and max values over the sample period. This is particularly useful for characterizing a DUT with variable power consumption, such as a BLE or WiFi device.

Continuous Measurement is only available on the PLT-300A, and the measurement channel must support continuous measurement. Currently, the only supported continuous measurement channel is joulescope which requires a Joulescope JS220 connected to the PLT-300A.

Example PLT test plan: Measure DUT Power Consumption for 10 seconds using Joulescope

 title: Measure DUT Power Consumption
 suite:
 - title: Measure DUT Power Consumption
   steps:
   - command: measure start joulescope
     with:
     - voltageAverage:3-3.5V
     - voltageLimit:0-4V
     - currentAverage:10-20mA
     - currentLimit:0-100mA
     - powerAverage:30-50mW
     - powerLimit:0-100mW
   - command: sleepms 5000 "Measuring DUT power consumption..."
   - command: measure stop

Commands

• measure start and measure stop - Take continuous measurements over time.

• sleepms - Delay

See also

• Joulescope JS220