To achieve a high measurement dynamic range, the Power Profiler Kit (PPK) features three calibrated parallel measurement means realizing the three measurement ranges simultaneously. An automatic range switching mechanism always selects the correct measurement range depending on the instantaneous current drawn by the Device Under Test (DUT).
If your DUT has a power consumption that is close to an automatic switching level, it can cause rapid switching between the ranges, creating measurement errors and distorted plots. A hysteresis is applied at the switching point in order to avoid distorted measurements as shown in the following figure.
There are four switch levels:
- Switch up LOW
- Switches up from low to medium range
- Switch up HIGH
- Switches up from medium to high range
- Switch down HIGH
- Switches down from high to medium range
- Switch down LOW
- Switches down from medium to low range
Figure 1. Measurement ranges and switch levels
