EmStat version:
– dc-potential range	± 3.000 V	± 4.000 V
– compliance voltage	± 5 V	± 8 V
– dc-potential resolution	0.1 mV	0.125 mV
– potential accuracy	0.2 %	0.3 %
– current ranges	1 nA to 10 mA (8 ranges)	1 nA to 100 mA (9 ranges)
– maximum current	± 20 mA typical and ± 15 mA minimum	± 100 mA typical

The current is measured using a zero resistance ammeter (ZRA).

– current resolution	0.1% of current range, 1 pA at lowest current range
– electrometer amplifier input	> 100 Gohm // 4 pF
– rise time	approx. 100 μs
– power	5 V, 130 mA (ES3) or 500 mA (ES3+)
– external I/O options	analog: 1 input and 1 output channel (both 0 V – 4.096 V) digital:  4 in/output lines (maximum rating: -0.3 V to 5.3 V)
– PCB Dimensions	ES3:      51.5 x 34 mm ES3+:   55 x 41 mm

 

Interfacing

The EmStat module supports communication via:

• USB (for integration with the PalmSens .NET SDK)
• Serial TTL (Rx/Tx for UART)
• RS232 (by means of additional TTL <> RS232 converter)
• Virtual COM port (the EmStat’s USB port is recognized as generic virtual COM port)
• A Bluetooth module for use with the Serial Port Profile (SPP) can be connected to the +5V, GND and TTL lines.

Connections

The EmStat module provides the following connections via the connection pins:

• WE, RE, CE, SENSE (for EmStat 3+) and AGND
• 5V output (max. 30 mA)
• -5V output (max. 10 mA)
• Tx and Rx (serial port)
• Voltage reference (4.096 V)
• GND
• Reset (active high)
• Firmware update (active low)
• ADC (range 0 – 4.095 V)
• DAC (range 0 – 4.095 V)
• E out and I out (where 0 corresponds to minimum and 4.095 to maximum potentiostat range)

Connectors: 

• mini USB
• LEMO 4 pins sensor socket

All supported techniques for EmStat:

The EmStat module is able to perform the following electrochemical measurement techniques on-board:

Voltammetric techniques:

• Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV)
• Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV)
• Square wave voltammetry (SWV)
• Normal pulse voltammetry (NPV)
• Cyclic voltammetry (CV)

Technique as a function of time:

• Amperometric detection (AD) (Chronoamperometry)
• Chronocoulometry (CC)
• Pulsed amperometric detection (PAD)
• Multiple pulse amperometry (MPAD)
• Open circuit potentiometry (OCP)
• Multistep amperometry (MA)

Other techniques can be performed by manual cell control or combining multiple measurements. For example Multistep Amperometry can be achieved by combining multiple AD measurements and sending the next run time and potential level after each step.

Our starter kit helps out new developers to quickly develop applications on EmStat boards (modules). The starter kit includes:

• EmStat3 or EmStat 3+ module
• Manual “How to wire the module”
• Our standard sensor cable and test sensor
• USB cable (or serial cable optionally)
• Communication protocol for direct serial communication, with an external microcontroller or pc
• And optional SDK for .NET

Click here to view our brochure.
Rapid prototyping with EmStat Starter Kit 

The EmStat3 and EmStat3+ Starter Kits are the quickest solution for the development of an electrochemical application. It includes all components and documents needed to get started.

.NET Software Development Kit (SDK) 

The SDK provides a set of libraries for communications, running measurements, loading and saving data, plotting measured data and more. The SDK includes code examples and documentation.

“The EmStat OEM is currently the best choice for specialized tasks that need an automated electrochemical measurement/Potentiostat.”

Gensoric’s Use of EmStat

The Palmsens EmStat OEM is an integrated part of Gensoric‘s ThermaLab™-System.

The Thermalab™-System is a device to heat electrochemical working electrodes directly with a high frequency current (see figure 1) while measuring a low-direct current for analytical applications. This way the temperature of an electrode’s surface is controlled. By applying pulse techniques temperatures above the boiling point of aqueous solutions can be reached.

Figure 1: ThermaLab™-System

Why direct heating for electrodes?

For more information visit  www.gensoric.com

Why using the EmStat?

EmStat is actually the best solution to solve the calibration problem: The temperature of the electrode’s surface cannot be directly or precisely measured by electrical sensors such as temperature probes/sensors and for the same heating power configuration the resulting temperature may vary for different electrode designs.

This results in following challenge:

How to show the customer what temperature will be achieved at his/her custom electrochemical electrode design?

Solution:

Using the temperature calibration techniques introduced by Flechsig et al.: During a zero current potentiometry the drift of the potential curve depends on the surface temperature of the electrode. Therefore you can calculate the temperature of the electrode by monitoring this potential drift. Applying several heat pulses with varying power to the electrode is a convenient way to determine the power-temperature-dependency for an electrode (see Figure 2). This calibration method takes several minutes and can be automated because the procedure is the same for every electrode design. To achieve this objective we looked for a small and a low priced OEM potentiostat with a customizable communication interface which we could integrate in our prototypes. We found a suitable solution in Palmsens’ EmStat. The OEM EmStat device is a cheap as well as powerful potentiostat and due to its design easily implementable in prototypes. With the easy-to-use communication protocol of the EmStat, the Palmsens PSTrace SDK and the very friendly as well as helpful support service we could quickly built up our own software applications such as the automated calibration method for our Thermalab™-System. Other applications will follow.

Figure 2: Temperature calibration of directly heated electrodes

How is the EmStat OEM integrated in the Gensoric ThermaLab™-System?

The OEM EmStat is integrated in the ThermaLab™-System via USB-connection. We used an OEM USB-HUB to combine the Thermalab™ USB with the EmStat USB connection. We shielded the OEM EmStat with a custom-made metal-based case to ensure the EMC (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: EmStat in metal case

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