Evaluations of a Detector-Limited Digital Impedance Bridge

Abstract

We tested a simple digital impedance bridge using two nominally equal resistors to form a 1:1 ratio. We focused on resolution and stability of the detectors. Fluctuations of the source voltages were largely removed through postprocessing of the digitized data, and the measurement results were limited by the detector noise. This detector-limited operating condition was first demonstrated using three modified Keysight 3458A multimeters for measurements of the voltage ratios, achieving 0.01 μV/V type A uncertainty in less than 15 min at 1 kHz. In an effort to extend the applicable frequency range and develop a system with off-the-shelf components, we tested a system using three lock-in detectors for measuring small deviations from the perfect AC ratio of unity magnitude, achieving stabilities and resolutions of 0.1 μV/V in a few hours for each point from 1 kHz to 5 kHz.