Keithley Instruments
2700-852-B01.3
Release Note for Version B01.3
IVI Instrument Driver for the Model 2700/2701/2750
11/17/2003

 

IMPORTANT: To work properly with the driver, your instrument must have a compatible version of firmware.  Refer to section 2 (System Requirements) below for specific details regarding the required firmware version for your instrument.  Visit Keithley.com for upgrade instructions if your instrument’s firmware is not a compatible version.  The instrument’s firmware version is shown on the display when the instrument is first powered up, immediately to the right of the model number.

 

This document provides additional information for the installation and use of the 2700-852-B01.3 2700/2701/2750 driver for LabView and LabWindows CVI, Visual Basic, and C/C++.

 

 

Table of Contents

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1        Introduction  2

1.1            What’s new in this release. 2

1.1.1                IVI Compliance Package 2 Compatibility  2

1.1.2                LabView 7  and LabWindows 7 Compatibility  2

1.1.3                Support for .002 NPLC using 2701  2

1.1.4                Improved Read and ReadMultiPoint Performance  3

1.2            Included in this release  3

1.2.1                KE2700 IVI Driver 3

1.2.2                Keithley Configuration Panel and Wizard  4

1.3            Additional available software  4

2      System Requirements. 4

2.1            Supported Operating Systems and System Software. 5

3      Installation. 5

3.1            GPIB Controller Installation. 5

3.1.1                Keithley and INES PCMCIA Controller Installation  6

3.2            Connecting your Computer to your Instrument 6

3.3            Upgrading from a previous version of the Instrument Driver 6

3.4            Instrument Driver Installation. 6

3.4.1                Installing the driver from CD   6

3.4.2                Installing the driver from the Web  7

3.4.3                Installing only the Keithley I/O Layer 7

3.5            Converting Configuration Data  7

4      Using the Instrument Driver 8

4.1            Virtual Instruments. 8

4.2            Create your own Virtual Instruments. 8

4.3            VISA resources. 9

4.3.1                GPIB   9

4.3.2                RS232  9

4.3.3                Ethernet (Socket connection) 9

4.3.4                Example of using VISA resources: 9

4.4            Driver Speed up solutions  9

4.4.1                QueryInstrStatus  9

4.4.2                RangeCheck  10

4.4.3                Caching  10

4.5            Using the Example Programs. 10

4.6            Using the driver with LabView   10

5      Known problems and issues  11

5.1            Invalid Data Type Error 11

5.2       Max Time Exceeded Error 11

5.3            Duplicate Functions. 11

5.4            KE2700_ConfigureApertureTimeInfo  11

5.5            Fetching data back when the Real-Time Clock is enabled. 11

5.6            KE4500_FetchMultiReading. 12

6      Copyright Notice. 12

 

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1         Introduction

1.1      What’s new in this release

1.1.1      IVI Compliance Package 2 Compatibility

 

Previous versions of this driver are not compatible with IVI Compliance Package 2.  IVI CP2 changed the way configuration information is stored and previous versions of the Keithley Configuration Panel are not compatible with the new data format.  This version of the driver (B01.3) includes a revised Keithley Configuration Panel that supports the new data format.  Using the driver with IVI CP2 requires an extra, manual step after the driver is installed but before the Configuration Panel is used to configure Instrument I/O.  Refer to the section: "Converting Configuration Data" in the installation instructions below for details.

1.1.2      LabView 7  and LabWindows 7 Compatibility

 

Installing LabView 7, LabWindows 7, or Measurement Studio 7 also installs the IVI compliance Package 2 by default.  See the previous section for information regarding compatibility with IVI CP2.

1.1.3      Support for .002 NPLC using 2701

 

The Keithley Model 2701 supports aperture time settings as small as .002 NPLC, but previous versions of this driver would not accept settings below .01 NPLC.  This version of the driver (B01.3) supports the full range of allowable aperture time settings.

1.1.4      Improved Read and ReadMultiPoint Performance

 

When using the Read or ReadMultiPoint function in a loop to repetitively perform a measurement or a scan instead of storing measurements to the buffer and then reading them all out at once, the maximum achievable reading rate was not optimum using previous versions of this driver.   This version of the driver, (B01.3) significantly improves performance under certain conditions.  To obtain maximum reading rate when using Read or ReadMultiPoint in a loop, your program must establish the following conditions:

 

 

Important Note: When using the above configuration to maximize reading rate, reading accuracy may be adversely affected, particularly when measuring temperature.  Refer to the 2700/2701/2750 section of the Keithley Web site for the latest information on achieving maximum accuracy and measurement speed, including sample programs.

 

Important Note: When using this technique with a Model 2701, it must have firmware version A06 or later.

1.2      Included in this release

 

The components described below are provided as part of the KE2700 IVI Instrument Driver for the Integra Model 2700, 2701, and 2750 instruments.  Some shortcuts for them are added to the Keithley Instruments folder on your Start Menu.

1.2.1      KE2700 IVI Driver

 

Version B01.3 of the KE2700 driver supports the Integra Model 2700, 2701, and 2750 instruments.

 

The Instrument driver conforms to the IVI DMM Class specification. The driver uses the Keithley I/O layer (VISA) to communicate with your instrument. IVI (Interchangeable Virtual Instruments) and VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) provide a common foundation for application development across multiple communication buses and multiple instrument vendors.  This software driver supports many Application Development Environments under Windows, such as Visual Basic, C/C++, LabView, LabWindows/CVI, and TestPoint. Numerous examples and an on-line help utility are provided to help programmers build their custom applications.

1.2.2      Keithley Configuration Panel and Wizard

 

The Keithley Configuration Panel is provided to allow you to setup or modify the communications between the driver and your instrument.

 

For an IVI driver to be truly interchangeable you need to create a virtual instrument configuration which points to the VISA resource to use, the name of the DLL to use and the prefix for the function calls in the DLL. The Configuration Panel and Wizard allow you to do this.

 

The installation pre-configures instruments for Serial ports COM1 and COM2, and for a GPIB instrument at GPIB address 16. If you are using one of these, you may skip the configuration panel. Otherwise, you must create a new instrument configuration using the Keithley Configuration Panel and Wizard. See instructions below.

1.3      Additional available software

 

ExceLINX-1A is a Microsoft Excel add-in for the 2700, 2701, and 2750 systems. Within minutes of installing ExceLINX-1A on a PC, users can acquire data dynamically within Excel, and then employ the familiar Excel graphics, charting, and analysis capabilities. No Programming is required to use ExceLINX - a few mouse clicks are all it takes to configure channels, set parameters, triggers, scan lists, etc. ExceLINX is sold separately.  Check www.keithley.com or call 1-888-KEITHLEY (534-8453) for more information.

 

TestPoint Professional Development System is a complete package for creating test & measurement applications, including support for GPIB and serial instruments, control, math, graphing, A/D and many more features.

2         System Requirements

 

Pentium-class PC.

 

2700 firmware release B03 or later.

 

2701 firmware release A01 or later. (Version A06 or later is required for the enhanced Read and ReadMultiPoint performance described above.)

 

2750 firmware release A02 or later.

 

Supported GPIB controller (see section 3.1),  RS-232 Serial, or Ethernet (2701 only) port for communications with the instrument.

 

KE2700 now supports 7700, 7701, 7702, 7703, 7705, 7706, 7707, 7708, 7709, 7710, 7711, and 7712 Switch Cards.

 

NOTE: It is strongly recommended that your computer and instrument be powered by an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) when running a critical application.

2.1      Supported Operating Systems and System Software

 

Windows XP Professional service pack 1 or later

Windows 2000 Service pack 3 or later

Windows NT Service pack 6a or later

Windows 98 Second edition only

Note: Windows 95 is not supported.

 

The driver has been tested with a variety of International versions of Windows, including Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, German, and French. 

 

Note that Windows 95 is not supported in any language.

3         Installation

3.1      GPIB Controller Installation

 

If you will be using GPIB to communicate with your instrument, you must have a compatible GPIB controller card and associated software driver installed in your computer before installing the Instrument Driver.

 

The driver is compatible with the following GPIB controller cards:

 

Keithley Instruments GPIB cards (ISA, PCI, PCMCIA)

 

CEC GPIB cards (ISA, PCI)

 

National Instruments GPIB cards (ISA, PCI, PCMCIA)

 

INES GPIB cards (PCMCIA)

 

When using Keithley Instruments or CEC ISA or PCI GPIB cards, you must have driver software version 6.03 or later.  The latest driver for these cards is available from the CEC WEB site: www.cec488.com.

 

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for installing the controller card and software, and for verifying correct operation of the card and software driver.

3.1.1      Keithley and INES PCMCIA Controller Installation

 

When installing the INES driver software, do NOT install the HP I/O libraries or select HP SICL emulation.

 

When installing the INES driver software, DO select NI compatibility mode.

 

When installing the INES driver software, if the hardware test fails, change the Interrupt selection to none.

3.2      Connecting your Computer to your Instrument

 

Connect your instrument to your computer using a standard GPIB interface cable or a "straight through" (not null-modem) serial RS-232 cable.

3.3      Upgrading from a previous version of the Instrument Driver

 

If you have an earlier version of the driver software installed on your computer, uninstall it by following the steps below before installing this version.

 

Using the Add/Remove Programs Wizard in Control Panel, uninstall the following components:

 

Keithley 2700 IVI Driver.

Keithley I/O Layer.

NI-VISA x.x.x Runtime (If present) (x.x.x will be the VISA version)

 

Reboot your computer.

3.4      Instrument Driver Installation

Note: If you will be installing National Instrument’s LabView Software, you should install it before installing the instrument Driver.

3.4.1      Installing the driver from CD

 

The Instrument Driver is included on the Software CD provided with the Instrument, or it can be downloaded from www.keithley.com.

 

If you have a previous version of the Instrument Driver installed on your computer, uninstall it as described above before installing the new version.

 

Before installing from the CD, it is recommended you visit www.keithley.com to see if a newer version of the driver is available.

 

Insert the Software CD in your computer.  The installation utility should start automatically.  If it does not start automatically, run the setup.exe file in the root directory of the CD.

 

Follow the instructions on the screen to install the software.  Note: during the early part of the installation, the installation utility may appear to stop for a minute or so.  This is normal and the utility will continue running in a short while.

 

When the installation is complete, reboot your computer.

3.4.2      Installing the driver from the Web

 

If you have a previous version of the Instrument Driver installed on your computer, uninstall it as described above before installing the new version.

 

Download the driver software from the Keithley Web site, www.keithley.com.  The software is a single compressed file, approximately 24 MB in size, and should be downloaded to a temporary directory.

 

Run the downloaded file from the temporary directory.

 

Follow the instructions on the screen to install the software.  Note: during the early part of the installation, the installation utility may appear to stop for a minute or so.  This is normal and the utility will continue running in a short while.

 

When the installation is complete, reboot your computer.

3.4.3      Installing only the Keithley I/O Layer

 

Installing the Instrument Driver automatically installs the Keithley I/O Layer and NI- VISA runtime.  If you wish to install only the I/O Layer and not the instrument driver, run the setup.exe file in the KeithleyIOLayer subdirectory of the CD.

3.5      Converting Configuration Data

 

If you have IVI Compliance Package 2 installed (See note in the "What’s new in this release" section, above), you must perform the following steps after installing the driver, but before attempting to use it:

 

1.      Open the following program: Start>>Programs>>National Instruments>>IVI>>Tools>>INI to XML Converter

2.      Accept all defaults and click the "Convert" Button.

3.      Answer "Yes" to convert entries from the ini file.

4.      After conversion, click OK.

5.      Click Exit.

This utility converts the configuration data from the old format  to the new format.  This step need only be performed one time immediately after the driver is installed.

4         Using the Instrument Driver

 

To connect to the instrument via the driver you need to first call KE2700_init or KE2700_InitWithOptions. The first parameter for either function is a VISA resource string, which indicates to the I/O layer which communication device you want to use to connect to the instrument and in most cases the address of the instrument.  This can be specified using a Virtual Instrument name, a Logical Name, or a VISA Resource string.  We recommend that you do not use the VISA resource string form, since it builds hardware and bus dependencies into your code.  If you use the Virtual Instrument Name or the Logical Name form, the Keithley Configuration Panel can be used to select a different bus or address with no code changes required.

4.1      Virtual Instruments

 

The Keithley I/O Layer installer creates several virtual instruments that you can use to automatically connect to an instrument.

 

If you are using a National Instruments GPIB card, select KE2700_GPIB16 as your device.

 

If you are using a Keithley Instruments or CEC ISA or PCI GPIB card, select KE2700_GPIB1_16 as your device.

 

If you are using a Keithley Instrument or INES PCMCIA GPIB card, select KE2700_GPIB2_16 as your device.

 

If you are using COM Port 1, select KE2700_COM1 as your device.

 

If you are using COM Port 2, select KE2700_COM2 as your device.

 

An example of using a Virtual Instrument Name to connect to an instrument connected to COM Port 1 is:

 

KE2700_init("KE2700_COM1", VI_TRUE, VI_TRUE, handle)

4.2      Create your own Virtual Instruments

 

If you want to create your own virtual instruments then use the Configuration Panel or Wizard. Open the Configuration Panel by selecting Start> Programs> Keithley Instruments> Keithley Configuration Panel, and wait for the Wizard to start.  Follow the Wizard instructions to create a new configuration or modify an existing one.

4.3      VISA resources

4.3.1      GPIB

 

For GPIB instruments, you would use a resource string of the following format:

 

"GPIBx::yy::INSTR".

x is the GPIB card number.

yy is the GPIB address of the instrument.

4.3.2      RS232

 

For RS232 instruments, the VISA resource string has the following format:

"ASRLx::INSTR" where x is the COM Port number.

4.3.3      Ethernet (Socket connection)

 

For Ethernet instruments, such as the 2701, use the following VISA resource string format:

"TCPIPx::IP::Port::SOCKET".

x is the Ethernet card number.

IP is the IP address of the instrument.

Port is the port number of the instrument (1394 for the 2701).

4.3.4      Example of using VISA resources:

 

KE2700_init("TCPIP0::10.12.90.115::1394::SOCKET",

VI_TRUE,

VI_TRUE,

handle)

would connect to a 2701 on IP address "10.12.90.115".

4.4      Driver Speed up solutions

 

Using the KE2700_InitWithOptions function there is a parameter, called OptionString, where you can enable/disable certain features of an IVI driver.

4.4.1      QueryInstrStatus

 

If this feature is enabled the driver will query the instrument after every function call to see if there where any errors. This is useful while you are writing your application but once it is finalized then you can disable this feature to gain extra performance.

4.4.2      RangeCheck

 

If enabled the IVI engine will check to see if the parameters you are passing in are within range. Disabling this feature in the final application will also gain some performance increase.

4.4.3      Caching

 

The driver has the option of caching all the settings it sends to the instrument so that it doesn't send a setting to the instrument a second time if it hasn't changed. By default this is enabled.

4.5      Using the Example Programs

 

The KE2700 Driver includes a number of example programs written in Visual Basic, LabView, and C.  The examples demonstrate how to perform common functions using the driver. The example programs are hard coded to use a 2700 at GPIB address 16 using a National Instruments GPIB interface card for communications.  If you are using a different bus, address, or interface card, you must edit the example programs to change the address, bus, or interface.

4.6      Using the driver with LabView

 

If LabView is already installed on your computer when the driver is installed, the LabView VIs will be installed in the proper subdirectory of the LabView directory so that they are directly accessible from within LabView.

 

If LabView is not installed on your computer when the driver is installed, the LabView VIs will placed in a subdirectory of the Keithley Instruments directory.  Once LabView has been installed, the VIs must be copied to the proper subdirectory under LabView before they can be used.  This directory is typically:

 

C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabView X\inst.lib\KE2700

 

Depending on the particular driver, there may be separate versions of the VIs for LabView 5.x and 6.x, in which case they will be installed into separate directories.  Copy the appropriate version of the VIs into the National Instrument directory tree.

5         Known problems and issues

5.1      Invalid Data Type Error

 

Where ever you see the following data types in the Visual BASIC help file: ViChar, ViChar[], ViString or ViConstString use the VB data type STRING. If you use one of these data types your VB program will run but when the code executes it will generate an error, "Invalid data type for automation". All the VB examples use the correct data type.  (PR19585)

5.2      Max Time Exceeded Error

 

Fetch Buffer Data.vi & example Read_Buffer.vi  - Max time exceeded before operation completed. If using large buffers then increase the timeout value.  (PR19573

 

5.3      Duplicate Functions

 

KE2700_ConfigureFixedRefJunction and KE2700_ConfigureSimRefJunction are duplicate functions.  Use KE2700_ConfigureFixedRefJuntion. (PR18886)

5.4      KE2700_ConfigureApertureTimeInfo

 

When using the KE2700_ConfigureApertureTimeInfo() function to configure multiple channels by using a channel list, all the channels in the list must be configured for the same measurement function (e.g. DC Volt) or a -221 Settings Conflict error will occur.  You may use multiple KE2700_ConfigureApertureTimeInfo() function calls to configure channels with different function settings.

 

In addition, the KE2700_ConfigureAperatureTimeInfo() must precede any KE2700_ConfigureMultiPoint() function calls in your program or the same error will occur.  (PR21832)

 

5.5      Fetching data back when the Real-Time Clock is enabled

 

If the real-time clock is enabled then you shouldn’t use the KE2700_ FetchMultiReading that returns an array of doubles. The real-time clock data has colons in it, which confuses the formatting routines. You need to use the function that returns strings KE2700_FetchMultiReadingChar.  (PR21852)

 

5.6      KE4500_FetchMultiReading

FetchMultireading does not list the valid parameters for the 2701 in the help file.  It lists them for the 2700 and the 2750 but not the 2701.  The parameters are the start and also the count.

 

For a 2701 the valid start parameter values are 0 to 449,999 and for the count parameter valid values are 1 to 450,000. (PR21853)

 

 

6         Copyright Notice

 

The VISA software supplied with the Instrument Driver is Copyright (c) 2001 National Instruments Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.

 

The KE2700 Series instrument driver is Copyright (c) 2001-2003 Keithley Instruments.  All Rights Reserved.

 

End of Release notes.