Battery analyser is cost-effective for early stage materials research
Suitable for early stage materials research and the testing of smaller energy storage devices, the Solartron analytical SI-6200 battery analyser has been released by Ametek Scientific Instruments, adding to its portfolio of battery cyclers. It can be used for early stage testing of battery materials, coin cells, supercapacitors and micro fuel cells with a broad range of capabilities and features normally found in higher-priced, research-grade equipment, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on every channel, said the company.
The SI-6200 can be used as either a desktop / standalone device or installed in an optional cabinet which accommodates up to 12 SI-6200 analysers.
Built-in, not multiplexed, impedance measurement hardware can run on-demand EIS simultaneously at 1mHz to 20 kHz per channel.
The uninterruptible power supply (UPS) option ensures safe system shut down and provides data security in case of power outages.
The optional 24-port gigabit Ethernet switch for connecting to the SI-6200, PCs, and Ametek’s VTI EX1401 or other data loggers.
The 24-bit, high-resolution ADCs enable early-stage detection of small changes in cell performance, increasing test throughput and shortening test times.
The SI-6200 also offers fast data acquisition of up to 1000 samples per second on all channels using Ametek’s Solartron Analytical’s patent pending Direct-to-Disk technology that transfers data directly from cycler channels to the disk drive, bypassing potential PC bottlenecks.
The battery tester also offers the flexibility to meet specific testing requirements, enabling users to run 10 independent tests per module, each at up to +200mA and -3.0 to +10V.
The Solartron Analytical’s Aspire Energy software integrates and aligns data from multi-channel cyclers together with voltage / temperature / humidity data from third-party equipment such as data loggers and climate chambers, to meet specific needs for correlating charge / discharge and temperature event information.
Aspire’s graphical user interface (GUI) makes use of centralised libraries for sharing test procedures, cell definitions and graph / data analysis setups, reducing unnecessary rework and offering greater consistency of test output, said Ametek.
The software supports a growing list of climate chambers, enabling users to control temperature and humidity for integrated testing including a full range of electrical tests like CC-CV, CP-CV and EIS.
The software includes an extensive range of application programming interface (API) facilities that enables users to write their own software to control specific tests and acquire / display data. Software for example may be written using Microsoft Visual Studio or Python programming languages.
