April 20, 2009

Radiant has just begun shipping the Precision 10KV HVI II. It is identical to the original 10KV HVI with the exception that it communicates with the tester and with the HVA ID Modules using I2C serial communications.

I2C stands for Inter Integrated-circuit Communications, a creation of Philips Electronics. It is a serial communications bus allowing microcontrollers to communicate with individual integrated circuits. It requires four lines: 1) power, 2) ground, 3) clock, and 4) half-duplex serial data. To those four, Radiant has added 5) +15V and 6) -15V. The six lines conveniently fit on standard 6-wire US compliant telephone cable, which you can see connecting the Premier II with the HVI II in the figure above. The telephone cable signficantly reduces the bulk of the cables connecting the tester to the high voltage interfaces.

The Precision Premier II and the Precision RT66B already have external I2C connection ports. The Precision LC does not. However, Radiant will soon offer a package to upgrade existing LCs with the the I2C port connection. The upgrade will entail replacing the back panel and USB entry module on an original LC. Finally, the RT66B has a 4KV HVI controlled via the I2C communications.

Another advantage of the I2C communications ports on Radiant testers is that they will allow us to add additional features to the testers. For instance, we recently added an I2C controlled power switch to the Precision II tester to allow you, the user, to turn off the internal high voltage amplifier from Vision when measuring small samples at voltages less than 10V. Turning off the high voltage amplifier reduces ground noise while measuring micron-scale capacitors. The power switch is attached to the inside wall of the front panel.

Eventually, Radiant will add external accessories for our testers that will expand their capabilities. Below is a prototype DC voltage source we built. The unit receives its commands and its power from the tester. Attaching it to the Premier II gives the tester a second voltage source in addition to the DRIVE BNC and allows us to execute current and retention tests on Radiant's JFET-style ferroelectric transistors.

The prototype circuit shown in the picture above was built on the EDU Project Board available at http://www.ferrodevices.com/projects.html. The EDU and the upcoming Hobbyist educational testers both have I2C ports.

I2C is the trademark of Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV.

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