By Dc J , MMBR Capacitor Ritwent Denese tle | M http// idwestd 4 wiz, -ARD° betpdfwemidwestdevces com IN-CIRCUIT ESR METER ESR Measurement using Square Wave, Resistor and Oscilloscope WARNING! I have isolated the safety grounds on the power plugs ofboth the osciloscope and the waveform Gen, ‘The safety grounds are ted tothe BNC connectors on bath she Waveform Gen andthe Seops. Inthe creut configuration below you must isolate the safely grounds or you wil shot aul the waveForm generator. inAMPS, resistance “R’, “ESR” in OHMS Q Units: Voltage Vr’, “Ves in VOLTS, amperage Be certain the Square Wave is Scope Setings for: Wavetorm Gen: State 1 [Be cerain the Square Waves Sekt SR cree Sae gh 2 Square” oth thing CHI: DCX! somuidy P= t2kHz vice, [Ona with your setup. A square CCH2: DC x1 Svldv Trigger VPPgen = 20.00v0p YELTRACE Scope CH2 Tage | wave insures Mconstant current” R= 10000 ‘ui Mode: 16 ‘Aequie Leng 1000 1) Measure ESR with Sq Wave Gen and Scope a) Demonstrate how to measure ESR with this setup b) Verify agreement with Capacitor Wizard® © Demonstrate that ESR is not frequency dependent 4) Show Fluke 87-V capacitance meter misses bad caps e) Demonstrate inverse temp coefficient with freeze spray =— VESR = 50mv Constant Curent Gen RED TRACE Scape Probe CH 1 VEsR = 50my Adjust the scope horiz and vertical & waveform gen until a pattern such as above is observed. Measure Ve. Ve and Irwill remain constant throughout our tests. = 16.6V| Calculate the value of Ir by dividing the measured value of Va by R. I= Va/ R= 16.6V / 10000 = 0.0166A [Ir= 0.0766, Calculate ESR by dividing the measured value of Vesr by It. ESR = Vesr / ir. Vesr = 50mv = 0.050V] 1uf 50v: ESR = Vesr/ Ir = 0,050V / 0.0166A = 3.019 [ESR = 3.010 Test other capacitors. Notice "Ir" remains the same 100uf 35: ESR = 0.0064V / 0.0166A = 0.390 220uf 35v: ESR = 0,0033V / 0.0166A = 200 Bad Capacitors. These are high uf a and low voltage. They shoud be less than 0.5 ohm, Now check these capacitor’s with the Capacitor Wizard* and verify agreement! Copyright© 20°8 Doug Jones| DOUGS TECH NOTES Manufacturer of. 1, Dy Dovaones Managing Member Square Wave Analysis of ESR Capacitor I I o I Midwest Devices LLC 4 WIZARD 816-204-1357 I = IN-CIRCUIT ESR METER Deg 180 Deg 0Deg 180 Deg 0Deg “ ‘A” Current Wavelorm Constant Current ‘Square Wave Test Signal “py Oscilloscope Waveform Voltage cokitve idee! Capactor Wavobm Rageanes Noes Nese y x “Cc” A Xe Voltage '\_ Capacitive veto sGesees Z With ESR, Cw 4 Sh iS S. Note that ESR exists through all 360 Degrees. That means “ D” POWER is being dissipated through > 7 Oscilloscope Waveform Capacitor with ESR ' the entire 360 Degrees. P=!°*ESR Waveform after Xc is "Zero'd Out" by raising the frequency. Only ESR is Left!! Now we can calculate ESR directly: ESR = Peak to Peak AC Voltage (E Ctest) / Constant Current (Rs) Ctest ESR= E(Ctest)(Rg), (E = 1x R) Copyright © 1999- 2018 by Doug Jones