Title :
Accurate Software-Related Average Current Drain Measurements in Embedded Systems
Author :
Macii, David ; Petri, Dario
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Informatica e Telecomunicazioni, Trento Univ.
fDate :
6/1/2007 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Performing accurate average current drain measurements of digital programmable components (e.g., microcontrollers, digital signal processors, System-on-Chip, or wireless modules) is a critical and error-prone measurement problem for embedded system manufacturers due to the impulsive time-varying behavior of the current waveforms drawn from a battery in real operating conditions. In this paper, the uncertainty contributions affecting the average current measurements when using a simple and inexpensive digital multimeter are analyzed in depth. Also, a criterion to keep the standard measurement uncertainty below a given threshold is provided. The theoretical analysis is validated by means of meaningful experimental results
Keywords :
digital multimeters; electric current measurement; embedded systems; measurement uncertainty; current waveforms; digital multimeter; digital programmable components; embedded systems; error-prone measurement problem; measurement uncertainty; software-related average current drain measurements; time-varying behavior; uncertainty estimation; Battery charge measurement; Current measurement; Digital signal processors; Embedded system; Manufacturing processes; Measurement standards; Microcontrollers; Performance evaluation; System-on-a-chip; Time varying systems; Current measurements; embedded systems; low power; uncertainty estimation;
Journal_Title :
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TIM.2007.894919
