What is four probe?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-terminal_sensing
Four-terminal sensing (4T sensing),
4-wire sensing, or
4-point probes method is an
electrical impedance measuring technique that uses separate pairs of
current-carrying and
voltage-sensing
electrodes to make more accurate measurements than the simpler and more
usual two-terminal (2T) sensing. Four-terminal sensing is used in some
ohmmeters and
impedance analyzers, and in wiring for
strain gauges and
resistance thermometers. Four-point probes are also used to measure
sheet resistance of
thin films.
Separation of current and voltage electrodes eliminates the lead and
contact resistance from the measurement. This is an advantage for precise measurement of low resistance values. For example, an
LCR bridge instruction manual recommends the four-terminal technique for accurate measurement of resistance below 100 ohms.
[1]
Four-terminal sensing is also known as
Kelvin sensing, after
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, who invented the
Kelvin bridge in 1861 to measure very low resistances using four-terminal sensing. Each two-wire connection can be called a
Kelvin connection. A pair of contacts that is designed to connect a force-and-sense pair to a single terminal or lead simultaneously is called a
Kelvin contact. A clip, often a
crocodile clip, that connects a force-and-sense pair is called a
Kelvin clip.
Operating principle
When a Kelvin connection is used, current is supplied via a pair of
source connections (current leads).
These generate a voltage drop across the impedance to be measured according to
Ohm's law V=
IR. A pair of
sense
connections (voltage leads) are made immediately adjacent to the target
impedance, so that they do not include the voltage drop in the force
leads or contacts. Since almost no current flows to the measuring
instrument, the voltage drop in the sense leads is negligible.
It is usual to arrange the sense wires as the inside pair, while the
force wires are the outside pair. If the force and sense connections are
exchanged, accuracy can be affected, because more of the lead
resistance is included in the measurement. The force wires may have to
carry a large current when measuring very small resistances, and must be
of adequate gauge; the sense wires can be of a small gauge.
The technique is commonly used in low-voltage power supplies, where it is called
remote sensing, to measure the voltage delivered to the load independent of the voltage drop in the supply wires.
It is common to provide 4-wire connections to
current-sensing shunt resistors of low resistance operating at high current.
3-wire sensing
A
variant uses three wires, with separate load and sense leads at one
end, and a common wire on the other. Voltage drop in the common wire is
compensated for by assuming that it is the same as in the load wire, of
the same gauge and length. This technique is widely used in
resistance thermometers, also known as resistance temperature detectors or RTDs.
Another example is in the
ATX power supply
standard, which includes a remote sense wire connected to the 3.3 V
supply line at connector pin 13, but no sense connection for the ground
wires.
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