Re: Curve Tracers

On 20/11/2024 10:32 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:

Gentlemen,
 Curve tracers reveal useful info about the dynamic characteristics of
semiconductors and make designing for same much more predictable and
dependable than relying on spice models and simulation alone. But they're
typically rare beasts and expensive to come by and boat anchor varieties
are seriously heavy and bulky.

Curve tracers provide the experimental observations that let people write the spice models which  we use in out simulation programs.
They put changing currents or  voltages into a device, and record the currents or voltages that come out.
For slow stuff, D/A converters can provide the input and A/D converters can now record the outputs. That won't need boat anchors.

  I think therefore that a curve tracer would make an excellent project,
using the X&Y inputs of a scope as the display. Has anyone here attempted
this? I'd be interested to know what the main challenges are likely to be.

The main challenge would be working out what devices you'd want to look at. Once you'd done that you'd just have to read the literature - and in your case, learn to understand it.
Your expedition into climate science fell down on that point.
--
Bill Sloman, Sydney