Solution
Follow the respective steps below in InstrumentStudio to take voltage or current measurements with your NI SMU:
Current Measurements
- Set the SMU Channel <Channel Number> Output Function to Voltage.
- Set the voltage Level to 0V.
- Set the current Limit to a value appropriate to your region of interest. Note: This value must be higher than the expected current reading or else the SMU will limit the current.
- Set Output to ON.
Voltage Measurements
- Set the SMU Channel <Channel Number> Output Function to Current.
- Set the current Level to the lowest possible value (refer to the table below).
- Set the voltage Limit to a value appropriate to your region of interest. Note: This value must be higher than the expected voltage reading or else the SMU will limit the voltage.
- Set Output to ON.
Note: The PXIe-414x and the PXIe-4136/4137/4138/4139 have the added advantage of a 0A current level allowing it to sink 0 current; this is crucial when measuring high impedance voltage sources. All other SMUs will have a non-zero current which will be sinked in the SMU. The following table lists the minimum current levels of SMU devices.
| Model | Channel | Current Range | Minimum Current Level |
| PXI-4130* | 1 | 200 uA | 4 uA |
| PXI-4132 | 0 | 10 uA | 0.2 uA |
| PXIe-4136 / PXIe-4137 | 0 | Any | 0 mA |
| PXIe-4138 / PXIe-4139 | 0 | Any | 0 mA |
| PXIe-414x | Any | Any | 0 mA |
| PXIe-4154* | 0 | 30 mA | 0.1 mA |
*Channel 0 and 1 may be used on the PXI-4130 and PXI-4154 respectively, but will have higher minimum current values than listed in the above table.