LCR METER

WHAT IS AN LCR METER?

An LCR meter (Inductance (l), Capacitance (C), and Resistance (R)) is

an instrument used to measure the inductance, capacitance, and
resistance of a component, sensor or other device that’s operation
depends upon capacitance, inductance or resistance. IET Labs
manufactures a wide variety of LCR Meters , Capacitance Meters , and
Resistance meters for high resistance and low resistance measurement.

Usually the device under test (DUT) is subjected to an AC voltage

source. The meter measures the voltage across and the current through
the DUT. From the ratio of these the meter can determine the magnitude
of the impedance.

The phase angle between the voltage and current is also measured in
more advanced instruments; in combination with the impedance, the
equivalent capacitance or inductance, and resistance, of the DUT can be
calculated and displayed. The meter must assume either a parallel or a
series model for these two elements. An ideal capacitor has no
characteristics other than capacitance, but there are no physical ideal
capacitors. All real capacitors have a little inductance, a little resistance,
and some defects causing inefficiency. These can be seen as
inductance or resistance in series with the ideal capacitor or in parallel
with it. And so likewise with inductors. Even resistors can have
inductance (especially if they are wire wound types) and capacitance as
a consequence of the way they are constructed. The most useful
assumption, and the one usually adopted, is that LR measurements
have the elements in series (as is necessarily the case in an inductor's
coil) and that CR measurements have the elements in parallel (as is
necessarily the case between a capacitor's 'plates'). Leakage is a
special case in capacitors, as the leakage is necessarily across the
capacitor plates, that is, in series.
An LCR meter can also be used to measure the inductance variation
with respect to the rotor position in permanent magnet machines.
(However, care must be taken, as some LCR meters will be damaged by
the generated EMF produced by turning the rotor of a permanent-
magnet motor; in particular those intended for electronic component
measurements.)

Types of LCR Meters

There are a variety of LCR meters from handheld to benchtop.

Handheld DMM with capacitance

measurement are designed
primarily as a DMM but use a DC
technique to measure capacitance.
The measurement of capacitance is
based upon measuring the RC time
constant of the DUT and calculating
capacitance. Generally meters in
this class have an accuracy of +/-
1%.
Handheld LCR meters have the
advantage of being lightweight,
portable and battery operated.

Benchtop LCR meters generally offer more features than handheld such
as programmable frequencies, better measurement accuracy to 0.01%,
computer control and data collect for automated applications. Advanced
feature such as DC bias voltage, and DC bias current and sweep
capability are common.

LCR meters in this category are used for AC calibration of inductance,

capacitance and resistance standards, dielectric constant
measurements with a variety of dielectric cells , and production testing of
components and sensors.

Test Frequency

Electrical components need to be tested at the frequency for which the

final product/application will be utilized. An instrument with a wide
frequency range and multiple programmable frequencies provides this
platform. Common measurement frequencies are 50/60Hz, 120Hz,
1kHz, 100kHz and 1MHz. LCR meters with programmable frequencies
provide the most flexibility, in matching frequency of measurement to the
frequency the DUT will actually be used at or use in R&D applications
where frequency characterization is useful to determine useful frequency
range or resonance. Most LCR meters today use an AC test signal over
a frequency range of 10 Hz to 2MHz.

Test Voltage

The AC output voltage of most LCR meters can be programmed to

select the signal level applied to the DUT. Generally, the programmed
level is obtained under an open circuit condition. A source resistance
(Rs, internal to the meter) is effectively connected in series with the ac
output and there is a voltage drop across this resistor. When a test
device is connected, the voltage applied to the device depends on the
value of the source resistor (Rs) and the impedance value of the device.
Accuracy/Speed

Classic trade-off. The more accurate your measurement the more time it
takes and conversely, the faster your measurement speed the less
accurate your measurement. That is why most LCR meters have three
measurement speeds: slow, medium and fast. Depending on the device
under test, the choice is yours to select accuracy or speed. Averaging
and median mode can also help to improve measurement accuracy but
increase measurement time. It is also important to look into the accuracy
formulas in the manuals as the actual accuracy fo the measurement
varies depending upon, frequency, voltage and impedance of the DUT.

Measurement Parameters

Primary parameters L, C and R are not the only electrical criteria in

characterizing a passive component and there is more information in the
Secondary parameters than simply D and Q. Measurements of
conductance (G), susceptance (B), phase angle (q) and ESR can more
fully define an electrical component, sensor or material.

Advantages:

=>LCR meter is quite accurate and gives the readings with high
precision.

=>The angle between voltage and current can also be calculated if

needed.

Disadvantages:

=>Drawbacks in maintaining battery.

=>It throws an error in case of fluctuations or transients.

Applications:

***Used to measure the inductance(L),capacitance(C) and

resistance(R).

***It is also used to measure the voltage and current across the DUT.