the mighty 6008, measure a photodiode

[Joel_ch]

Hi,

I've been reviewing the forum and support pages for different 6008 issues, but I still have a few questions.

Especially how to choose between single ended or differential measurement.

I want to acquire the DC value from an amplified photodiode. http://www.thorlabs.com/thorProduct.cfm?partNumber=PDA10A

Any hint appreciated !

Cheers, Joel

[SnowMule · Accepted solution]

If you've got inputs available, use differential.  Bring both wires closest to the point where you want to take the measurement.

If I'm measuring a bunch of voltages across the power supply of a PCB under test, I'll take them RSE since there's plenty of voltage there and usually ±0.1V accuracy is enough to tell if things are working right or not.

Differential gets rid of common-mode noise in the wires between the DAQ and the DUT.  Also with the 6008, gives you another bit of resolution and 8 scales (RSE is fixed at 10V regardless of what you plumb into the create-channel min/max terminals). 

[Joel_ch]

Thank you for your answer.

I understand there is no point using RSE unless you need a lot of channels. I'm actually using two only, so I will change my setup from RSE to differential.

Cheers