Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement (AG265)

Synopsis(This course is adapted from previous courses entitled "Electronic Instrumentation 1" and "Electronic Instrumentation 2" in order to to place more emphasis on the practical approach to learning measurement concepts and instrumentations. You may find 75% content resemblance between these courses.)

Most engineers and technicians are familiar with basic functions of common electronic instruments such as voltage, current, resistance, frequency or time measurements. Many go through years of working experience and trial-and-error methods to learn important Measurement concepts and techniques of these instruments necessary for more accurate, repeatable and complex measurements. Experienced engineers are also expected to help their organization to specify test instruments that meet the performance and cost of the project.

For example, a new engineer measures DC voltage using a multimeter basic function before going on to acquire the knowledge some time later to use integration function to reduce power line noise in such measurement. Another example could be the use of triggering holdoff in displaying irregular-shaped waveform on an oscilloscope.

This course aims to impart many such important measurement concepts and techniques of commonly-used electronic instruments. It also discusses key instrument specifications and errors caused by improper measurement setup. Such knowledge is an essential foundation for broad technical audience in building their expertise in selecting the right instruments and setups in their day-to-day measurement tasks.

What previous participants say about the Electonic Instrumentation 1 course:
Answers to the question 'what did you like most about the course'

• "Tips on instrument know-how, instrument operation principles, types of instruments in its respective family, great hands-on experience" - 21 Mar 07
• "Practical in lab. Course relate to application in working" - 21 Mar 07
• "Real life experience on instrument usage for diff application" - 21 Mar 07
• "All of the subject, good lecturer" - 5 Jun 08
• "Illustration & explanation is clear. Hands on" - 12 Jun 08
• "Hands-on practice in measurement"  - 6 Jan 11
• "Hands on practical to understand more on the instruments features & application." - 26 Jan 11
• "Using DMM and make a measurement and also DAQ application" - 21 Dec 12

 
Figures below showing instruments used in the training

What You Will Learn

• The common electronic measurement parameters and their expression in various formats
• Quality of measurements and measurement setup
• Front panel operations, operating principles, useful practical tips on measurement techniques and advanced instrument functions of the following instruments: Digital Multimeter, DC Power Supply, Function/Arbitrary Waveform Generator, Digital Oscilloscope
• Use of Data Acquisition and Control Systems
• Instrument control

Who Should AttendBroad technical audience of technicians, engineers and technical managers who are involved in various test and measurement functions such as:

• Test Development
• Test System Integration
• Test Software Development
• Test System Architecture
• Component Characterization
• Instrument Product Engineering
• Quality Assurance
• Calibration

PrerequisiteBasic knowledge of electronics

Course MethodologyLecture, instrument demonstration and hands-on lab.

Course Duration3 days, 9am - 5pm

Course StructureDay 1
Measurement Fundamentals

• Why do we measure
• Measurement parameters - electrical parameters and physical parameters
• Complex impedance - L,C,R, Z, Y, X, G, B
• AC Amplitude, DC Amplitude measurement
• Frequency, Phase measurement
• Presentation of results - linear, log scale, graphical
• dB, dBx (dBm, dBW, dBc, dBV, dBuV, dBi etc)

Function/Arbitrary Waveform Generator

• Operating Principle - Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS)
• Basic Signal Types - Sine, Square, Ramp, Triangle, Pulse, Noise
• Control - Amplitude, Offset, Frequency
• Complex Signals - AM, FSK, Sweep, Burst
• Arbitrary - Standard Library, IntuilLink Waveform Editor, Math Function
• Remote Interface
• Advanced Functions - Output Termination, External Frequency Reference

Quality of measurement

• Performance attributes of measurements: Connection to the variable/parameter of interest, Sensitivity, Resolution, Dynamic range, Linearity, Accuracy, Lag & settling time, Sample rate, Stability
• Measurement uncertainty - systematic, calibration, drift and random errors
• External time base - GPS, 10 MHz from other instruments, Cessium
• Clock, Time and Frequency Standards

Digital Multimeter

• Operating Principle - ADC
• Voltage Measurement - AC (Peak, Average, RMS), DC (Normal Mode Rejection using Integration and Low Pass Filter)
• Current Measurement
• Resistance Measurement - 2-wire, Math Null, 4-wire
• Measurement Errors - thermal EMF, Common Mode Noise, Magnetic Loop, Ground Loop, Test Lead Resistance, Power Dissipation, Loading, Series Burden Voltage
• Advanced Functions - Continuity, Diode, Frequency, Temperature, Math Operations
• Resolution - Digit

Lab: Function Generator - Generating complex waveforms

Day 2
DC Power Supply

• Types and architecture - Linear, Switch Mode
• Applications, Pros and Cons - Linear, Switch Mode
• Constant Voltage (CV), Constant Current (CC)
• Rectangular, Dual, Multiple, Auto-Range
• Output Sensing - Local, Remote
• Parallel/Series for higher Current/Voltage
• Remote Interface
• Electronic, AC Source
• Application Example - Capture, Store, Reproduce

Data Acquisition and Control

• EFT (Electronic Functional Test) vs DAQ (Data Acquisition and Control)
• Architecture - PC Plug-in, Switch Box, Standalone Data Logger
• Transducer - Common Measurement, Common Temperature Transducer,
• Switching - Simple, Multiplexer, Matrix, Types (Armature Relay, FET, Reed)
• Switches - switch topologies (Multiplexer, Matrix, SPST, SPDT) and switching instruments (SCU, Data Acquisition Unit, VXI / PXI

Measurement setup

• Circuit loading, input impedance, capacitive loading, compensated divider, passive/active probes, ac coupling
• Cabling - power transmission and measurement (AWG types, twisted pair, shielded twisted pair, coaxial)
• Connection considerations - impedance matching at higher frequencies, degradation of AC signals due to capacitive coupling, effects of cable drop, power line hum, EMI and common mode loop current to DC measurements, instrument shielding and grounding

Lab: DMM - Measuring DC+AC RMS, resistance, current, etc.

Lab: Data Acquisition - Monitoring temperature

Day 3
Digital Oscilloscope

• Introduction - Function, Operating Principle
• Aliasing, Bandwidth - Theoretical vs Practical, How Much is Enough
• Sampling Techniques - Real Time, Equivalent Time, Sequential
• Memory Depth - Purpose, Requirement, Ring Acquisition, Time Base Reference, Sample Rate
• Display Modes - Persistence, Average, Connect Dots/Vectors
• Triggering Mode - Single, Triggered, Auto
• Triggering Capabilities - Edge (including Holdoff), Signal Integrity, Parallel Logic, Serial Functions - AC/DC Coupling, Autoscale, Probe Attenuation, Math Functions, FFT, Random Noise Reduction on Triggering
• Probes - Resistive/Capacitive/Inductive Loading, Passive/Active/Differential, Compensation

Lab: Power Supply - Constant voltage and constant current operations

Instrument Control and Connectivity

• Controller - workstation, PC platforms
• Legacy Interfaces - GPIB (IEEE-488), VXI, RS232
• Current Interface - USB, LXI, PXI
• Graphical Programming language - VEE
• Instrument programming - IEEE 488.2 common commands (e.g. RST, IDN?), SCPI standard, timeout
• IO libraries and drivers

Lab: Oscilloscope - Timing measurements, FFT, advanced triggering