Keithley Upgrades SCS For Solar Cell Testing, Expanded C-V Frequency Range, and Nine-Slot Chassis Support

The new test libraries included in KTEI V7.2 expand the Model 4200-SCS’s capabilities for solar cell I-V, C-V, and resistivity testing applications, which are increasingly important, given the growing interest in and governmental support for alternative energy technologies. The software upgrade also supports Drive-Level Capacitance Profiling (DLCP), a new solar cell testing technique that was difficult to perform accurately using earlier test solutions. DLCP provides defect density information on thin film solar cells. Existing Model 4200-CVU Capacitance-Voltage Unit cards, which were introduced in November 2007, can be readily modified to support this testing technique.



The Model 4200-CVU’s frequency range has been expanded to 1kHz–10MHz from 10kHz–10Mz to support DLCP testing. This extended frequency range also expands the system’s applications, providing support for testing flat panel LCDs and organic semiconductors such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).



The continuing growth in I-V, pulse, and C-V characterization applications has meant that Model 4200-SCS users who need exceptional testing flexibility and capabilities have been finding their mainframes somewhat crowded. To address this need, the V7.2 upgrade provides support for a nine-slot instrument chassis. Previously, the Model 4200-SCS had just eight slots to hold a growing array of source-measure units (SMUs), pulse generation and scope cards, and capacitance-voltage cards. Existing Model 4200-SCS systems can be upgraded to support nine slots; all new mainframes will have nine slots.



In support of the V7.2 upgrade, Keithley has also introduced a new high performance triaxial cable kit for connecting the Model 4200-SCS to a prober, designed to simplify the process of switching between DC I-V, C-V, and pulse testing configurations. This new cable kit eliminates the need for recabling, as well as eliminating the measurement errors that often result from cabling errors. Two versions of the cable kit are available—one for Cascade Microtech probers and the other for use with SUSS MicroTec probers.



Keithley’s Model 4200-SCS replaces a variety of electrical test tools with a single, tightly integrated characterization solution and is ideal for a wide variety of applications including semiconductor technology development, process development, and materials research in reliability labs, materials and device research labs and consortia, as well as any lab needing a benchtop DC or pulse instrument. Keithley has continually enhanced the Model 4200-SCS’s hardware and software ever since its introduction. This commitment to ongoing system innovation assures a cost-effective upgrade path, so users don’t have to buy a new parametric analyzer because their old one is obsolete. Systems can be upgraded cost-effectively to keep up with the industry's evolving test needs, so capital investments in the Model 4200-SCS stretch much further than with competitive test solutions.