Auto-balancing bridge based wide impedance spectrum measurement with consideration of Op-Amp input impedance

Abstract

In an auto-balancing bridge for high impedance measurements, an operational amplifier (Op-Amp) is used to follow the intermediate potential. However, the input impedance of the Op-Amp introduces significant effects in high impedance measurements. This paper proposes a two-step excitation method (TSEM) and an incremental iterative method (IIM). The TSEM determines the magnitude of the Op-Amp input impedance and the initial value of the device under test. The IIM utilizes the TSEM results as initial conditions to quickly bring the bridge to equilibrium. To overcome the distortion issues associated with small amplitude excitation signals generated by the DAC under low resolution conditions, a programmable gain amplifier is designed. Additionally, a half-cycle difference algorithm is developed prior to the three-parameter sine fit to mitigate low-frequency direct-current drift caused by power frequency, thus improving measurement accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate that when the reference impedance is set to 1 MΩ, impedance measurements ranging from 1 kΩ to 100 MΩ can be achieved within the frequency range of 1 to 100 kHz. The precision evaluation reveals a relative standard deviation (RSD) of the modulus better than 0.384% and a standard deviation (SD) of the phase angle better than 3.49 mrad; especially for the impedance under test of 1 MΩ, the RSD is better than 0.006% and the SD is better than 0.1 mrad.