Keysight adds 1,500 V test options and a 12 kW DC supply family
Illustrative Keysight bench instruments. Radarvector / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Keysight has extended its automated power test range at both ends, adding 10 V options capable of sourcing up to 1,020 A and higher-voltage options that reach 1,500 V. It has also introduced a separate family of DC supplies rated at up to 12 kW in two rack units.
The 10 V hardware is intended for jobs such as biasing or burning in a power stage, where the supply has to deliver considerable current without a high output voltage. At the other end, the 1,500 V options cover equipment such as battery modules and chargers. Keysight has added 32 V and 300 V options as well, covering nominal 24 V and 28 V systems and 270 V DC aerospace equipment respectively.
The voltage range matters in combination with current, especially when a test sweeps across a battery’s operating range. A 12 kW instrument can deliver 12 kW only where its own voltage and current limits allow it; the new portfolio’s 1,500 V and 1,020 A figures belong to different options. For a rack with several channels running charge and discharge profiles at once, the extra question is how much power each channel can absorb continuously, not how many peak kilowatts fit on the front panel.
Rack density matters particularly when several channels have to sink power as well as source it. Keysight puts its regenerative supplies and loads at up to 6 kW in 1U or 12 kW in 2U, with absorbed energy returned instead of being dissipated entirely in the load. Its quoted 90 kW figure refers to an existing parallel system of up to twelve 7.5 kW units. It is separate from the 12 kW rating for the new DC family.
