Keithley offers power-supply advice

How can you be sure your power supply is applying the correct current and voltage to your DUT? In an infographic titled “Maximize the Performance of Your Power Supplies,” Keithley Instruments offers some concise, well illustrated tips.

For example, use a power supply with sense leads to make sure the supply is regulating voltage at the DUT terminals, not at its own terminals. And choose a supply with good readback accuracy to eliminate errors that an external load-sensing resistor and DMM can induce.

Need more range? Use a multichannel supply with isolated channels to double output voltage or current. And if you are powering up a digital board that have three voltage domains (for example, 1.2 V for a microprocessor core or FPGA, 1.8 V for DDR memory, and 3.3 V for I/O circuitry), you can employ a 3-channel supply, but make sure the supply lets you power up and power down in the proper sequence to avoid damaging low-voltage components. And finally, consider using shielded cables with proper grounding to keep external noise out of test circuits. You can download the infographic to see more details here.