Agilent Technologies E3634A, E3633A manual 5. Output Characteristics

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Output Characteristics

Figure 7-5 shows the operating modes of the output of the Agilent E3633A and Agilent E3634A power supplies. The operating point of one supply will be either above or below the line RL = RC. This line represents a load where the output voltage and the output current are equal to the voltage and current setting.

When the load RL is greater than RC, the output voltage will dominate since the current will be less then the current setting. The power supply is said to be in constant voltage mode. The load at point 1 has a relatively high resistance value (compared to RC), the output voltage is at the voltage setting, and the output current is less than the current setting. In this case the power supply is in the constant voltage mode and the current setting acts as a current limit.

Figure 7-5. Output Characteristics

When the load RL is less than RC, the output current will dominate since the voltage will be less than the set voltage. The power supply is said to be in constant current mode. The load at point 2 has a relatively low resistance, the output voltage is less than the voltage setting, the output current is at the current setting. The supply is in constant current mode and the voltage setting acts as a voltage limit.

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