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Level 4 MSci Project - A Resistance Mapping Instrument

My final year project at university was to design, build and use an instrument to map out the surface resistance of solar materials. I was to do this from scratch! I was happy to rise to this challenge and I designed, constructed and demonstrated an instrument to do the required job within the budget and time frame available.

The final design consisted of a table controllable in two axes (X,Y) and a probe head which moved in the Z direction. These were controlled by a PC using a custom program written in Visual C++. Readings were made on the sample using high precision meters interfaced to the PC using GPIB.

The features of the design are too numerous to list indiviudally but are fully detailed in my final report (copies available upon request). They include details like mounting the samples on IC headers so that the samples can easily be interchanged - the headers are then mounted onto the instrument using a ZIF socket.

The Completed Instrument

A sample after being probed by the instrument

Some of the electronics designed for the instrument