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AC Voltage Measurement Errors in Digital Multimeters
Digital Multimeter Measurement Errors Series
AC Voltage Measurement
Errors in Digital Multimeters
Application Note AN 1389-3
When you make measurements with a digital
multimeter (DMM), common errors will crop up.
The following discussion will help you eliminate
potential measurement errors and achieve the
greatest accuracy with a DMM. This paper covers
ac voltage measurement errors. For an overview of
system cabling errors and dc voltage measurement
errors, see Application Note 1389-1. For a discussion
of resistance; dc current; ac current; and frequency
and period measurement errors, see Application
Note 1389-2. (NOTE: The Agilent 34401A, a 6-1/2-
digit, high-performance DMM with both benchtop
and system features, will be used as an example
throughout this article).
Introduction Many of the errors associated with
dc voltage measurements also
apply to ac voltage measurements.
This paper covers errors that are
unique to ac voltage measurements.
For information about dc voltage
measurement errors, see
Application Note 1389-1.
Common Mode Errors
Errors are
generated when the multimeters
input LO terminal is driven with
an ac voltage relative to earth.
The most common situation
where unnecessary common
mode voltages are created is
when the output of an ac
calibrator is connected to the
multimeter "backwards." Ideally,
a multimeter reads the same
regardless of how the source is
connected. However, both source
and multimeter effects can
degrade this ideal situation.
Because of the capacitance
between the input LO terminal
and earth (approximately 200 pF
for the Agilent 34401A), the
source will experience different
loading, depending on how the
input is applied. The magnitude of
the error is dependent on the
sources response to this loading.
The multimeters measurement
circuitry, while extensively
shielded, responds differently
in the backward input case
due to slight differences in
stray capacitance to earth. The
multimeters errors are greatest
for high-voltage, high-frequency
inputs. Typically, the multimeter
will exhibit about 0.06% additional
error for a 100 V, 100 kHz reverse
input. You can use the grounding
techniques described for dc common
mode problems to minimize ac
common mode voltages (see
Application Note 1389-1).
True RMS AC Measurements.
True RMS- (root mean square)
responding multimeters like the
Agilent 34401A measure the
heating potential of an applied
voltage. Unlike an average-
responding measurement, a
true RMS measurement is used
to determine the power dissipated
in a resistor. The power is
proportional to the square of
the measured true RMS voltage,
independent of waveshape. An
average-responding ac multimeter
is calibrated to read the same as
a true RMS meter for sinewave
inputs only. For other waveform
shapes, an average responding
meter will exhibit substantial
errors (see Figure 1).
The multimeters ac voltage and
ac current functions measure the
ac-coupled true RMS value. This
is in contrast to the ac+dc true
RMS value shown above. Only
the heating value of the ac
components of the input waveform
are measured (dc is rejected).
For sinewaves, triangle waves
and square waves, the ac and
ac+dc values are equal since
these waveforms do not contain
a dc offset. Non-symmetrical
waveforms such as pulse trains
contain dc voltages, which are
rejected by ac-coupled true RMS
measurements.
Crest Factor Errors
A common
misconception is that since an
ac multimeter is true RMS, its
sinewave accuracy specifications
apply to all waveforms. Actually,
the shape of the input signal can
dramatically affect measurement
accuracy. A common way to
describe signal waveshapes is
crest factor. Crest factor is the
ratio of the peak value to the RMS
value of a waveform.
For example, a pulse trains crest
factor is approximately equal to
the square root of the inverse of
the duty cycle as shown in Figure
9. In general, the greater the crest
factor, the greater the energy
contained in higher frequency
harmonics. All multimeters
exhibit measurement errors that
are crest-factor-dependent.
2
AC Voltage Measurement Errors
Figure 1. The following equation shows how
to estimate the measurement
error due to signal crest factor:
Calculate the approximate
measurement error for a pulse
train input with a crest factor of 3
and a fundamental frequency of
20 kHz. For this example, assume
the multimeters 90-day accuracy
specifications: ±(0.05% + 0.03%)
and the error for a 2-3 crest factor
is specified as 0.15% of reading.
AC Loading Errors In the ac
voltage function, the input of the
Agilent 34401A appears as a 1MW
resistance in parallel with 100 pF
of capacitance. The cabling used
to connect signals to the multimeter
will also add additional capacitance
and loading. Figure 2 shows the
multimeters approximate input
resistance at various frequencies.
For Low Frequencies:
Low-Level AC Measurement
Errors When measuring ac
voltages less than 100 mV, be
aware that these measurements
are especially susceptible to
errors introduced by extraneous
noise sources. An exposed test
lead will act as an antenna and a
properly functioning multimeter
will measure the signals received.
The entire measurement path,
including the power line, acts as a
loop antenna. Circulating currents
in the loop will create error
voltages across any impedances in
series with the multimeters input.
For this reason, apply low-level ac
voltages to the multimeter through
shielded cables, and connect the
shield to the input LO terminal.
Make sure the multimeter and the
ac source are connected to the
same electrical outlet whenever
possible, and also minimize the area
of any ground loops that cannot
be avoided. A high-impedance
source is more susceptible to
noise pickup than a low-impedance
source. To reduce the high-frequency
impedance of a source, place a
capacitor in parallel with the
multimeters input terminals. There
may be some experimentation
involved to determine the correct
capacitor value for the particular
application.
Most extraneous noise is not
correlated with the input signal.
The equation below shows how to
determine the error:
Voltage Measured =
V
in
2
+ Noise
2
Correlated noise, while rare, is
especially detrimental because it
will always add directly to the
input signal. Measuring a low-level
signal with the same frequency as
the local power line is a common
situation where this error is likely
to occur.
Temperature Coefficient and
Overload Errors The Agilent
34401A uses an ac measurement
technique that measures and
removes internal offset voltages
when you select a different
function or range. If you leave
the multimeter in the same range
for an extended period of time,
and the ambient temperature
changes significantly (or if the
multimeter is not fully warmed
up), the internal offsets may
change. For the Agilent 34401A,
this temperature coefficient is
typically 0.002% of range per °C.
The coefficent is automatically
removed when you change
functions or ranges.
When manual ranging to a new
range in an overload condition,
the internal offset measurement
may be degraded for the selected
range. Typically, an additional
0.01% of range error may be
introduced. This additional error
is automatically removed when
you remove the overload
condition and then change
functions or ranges.
Error (%) = 100 x R
s
R
s
+ 1M 3
Total Error = Error
sine
+ Error
crest factor
+
Error
bandwidth
Where:
Error
sine
= DMMs Sinewave Accuracy
Error
crest
= DMMs Crest Factor
Error
bandwidth
= Estimated Bandwidth Error
(see below):
Error
bandwidth
=
Where:
C.F. = Signal Crest Factor
F = Fundamental Input Signal
Frequency
BW = DMMs 3 dB Bandwidth (1 MHz
for the Agilent 34401A)
C.F.
2
x F
4 x BW
Total Error = (0.05+0.03)% + 0.15% +
((3^2*20kHz)/(4 *1000kHz))%
Total Error = 0.08% + 0.15% + 1.4% = 1.6%i
Example: Calculating Crest Factor Error
Additional error for high
frequencies:
Where:
R
s
= Source Resistance
F = Input Frequency
C
in
= Input Capacitance
(100 pF) plus Cable Capacitance
Note: Be sure to use low-capaci-
tance cable when measuring
high-frequency signals.
Figure 2.
Input Frequency
Input Resistance
100 Hz
1 MW
1 kHz
850 kW
10 kHz
160 kW
100 kHz
16 kW
Error (%) = 100 x
1
1
1 + (2 x F x R
s
x C
in
)
2 Conclusion
When making high frequency or
low voltage AC measurements it
is important to minimize error
mechanisms. When practical, use
a low-impedance source, use
proper cabling and minimize loops
between cables. To determine AC
measurement errors, it is important
to include errors due to signal
shape, noise and frequency.
For more information about the
Agilent 34401A DMM, go to
www.agilent.com/find/34401a
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