The Keithley KICKSTARTNLACT3 Kickstart I-V Tracer Application, Three-Instrument License, for 2400 Series SourceMeter SMUs leverages the unique touchscreen interface of the Graphical 2400 Series SourceMeter SMU instruments to recreate the familiar user experience of a curve tracer for two-terminal devices. Adding the I-V Tracer software to the SourceMeter instrument gives the user a dedicated user interface for tracing the characteristics of devices through both current and voltage. With a range of compatible instruments, I-V Tracer can utilize the full capabilities of each source measure unit, including the dual high-speed digitizers of the 2461 to perform tracing with AC polarity and pulsed DC in addition to standard DC polarity.

This software offers the first modern alternative to those who love the direct control a curve tracer offers. Since an SMU can source voltage or current while measuring voltage and current, it has similar hardware qualities to a curve tracer. Rather than pooling resources for shared, outdated equipment, labs can now equip individual engineers with their own I-V curve tracer for applications in failure analysis, semiconductor R&D, and education.