A wide-range logarithmic electrometer with improved accuracy and temperature stability

M. Nance Ericson; Kelly G. Falter; James M. Rochelle

doi:10.1109/19.199444

A wide-range logarithmic electrometer with improved accuracy and temperature stability

M. Nance Ericson, Kelly G. Falter, James M. Rochelle

Sensors and Electronics

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21 Scopus citations

Abstract

A seven-decade temperature-compensated logarithmic electrometer is presented. The amplifier is designed for a dynamic range of 1 pA to 10 µA. Temperature compensation is accurately achieved by using an array of four matched monolithic bipolar transistors and straightforward postprocessing techniques. Use of this method results in <1% error over the temperature range of −18 to 71°C for the upper five decades of current. In addition, errors resulting from variable forward current emission coefficients of the logarithmic elements are eliminated. Problems associated with the temperature compensation of logarithmic amplifiers are identified and discussed. Implementation of the new temperature-compensation technique is fully described and compared with conventional methods. Experimental results and data analysis illustrating the performance of the design are presented.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	968-973
Number of pages	6
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement
Volume	41
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/19.199444
State	Published - Dec 1992

Funding

Manuscript received May 14, 1992; revised September 4, 1992. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-840R21400 and performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. M.-N. Ericson and K. G. Falter are with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6006. J. M. Rochelle is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996. IEEE Log Number 9204770.

Funders	Funder number
U.S. Department of Energy	DE-AC05-840R21400
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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A wide-range logarithmic electrometer with improved accuracy and temperature stability

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