Total control of bias application

DC-bias application is an important component of many dielectric spectroscopy measurements. However, the way the dc-field is applied can have important consequences for the behavior of your sample so you need to be able to control the details. Sometimes you want the bias turned off as little as possible, sometimes you want a period of several minutes with a constant DC-bias to be compensated by an equal period with the opposite bias, in other cases it is imperative that the bias stays on, without changing sign, throughout the whole experiment.

Sigma gives you four main DC-bias application settings (top picture), adopted to the different situations outlined above, and for each setting you can run your measurement in one of two modes (right). Normally, you will be measuring with the bias field applied but you can also engage an inverted bias application mode: a DC-bias application is applied at the level and for the time you specify, you can have a photo taken of the sample texture, and then the bias is removed just before the measurement starts. This allows you to study the relaxation from field-induced states with great detail.