Specifications

Current Sinking
Question: Can Agilent power supplies sink current?
Answer: Yes! Sinking, or downprogramming, is the ability of a power supply to pull current into the positive power
terminal. Sinking is necessary to discharge the power supply's own output capacitor, or the capacitors that are part of
an external load.
Sinking is particularly important, for example, in printed circuit board test systems. The relays in test board systems
typically must be switched only when the power supplies have discharged to zero volts, to avoid arcing and burn-out
of the relay contacts. Sinking allows the power supply outputs to go to zero quickly, thus providing faster test times,
an important factor for reducing overall test cost.
The value of the sink current is fixed and is not programmable, with the exception of the 663xB Series, where sink
current is set to the same value that is programmed for source current.
In general, sinking is provided to improve a power supply's transition time from a higher to a lower constant voltage
operating level, and is not intended to be a steady-state operating condition.
Products Current Sinking Capability
661x Series 40 Watt 60% of source current rating
6621A, '22A, '23A, '24A, '27A Multiple Output 110% of source current rating
6625A, '26A, '28A, '29A Precision Output 110% of source current rating
663x Series 100 Watt 110% of source current rating
603x Series Autorangers 50 W/actual output voltage in volts or
actual output voltage volts/0.05 ohms, whichever is less
664x Series 200 Watt 25% of source current rating
665x Series 500 Watt 20% of source current rating
667x Series 2000 Watt 50 W/actual output voltage in volts
or actual output voltage in volts/0.05 ohms, whichever is less
668x Series 5000 Watt 50 W/actual output voltage in volts
or actual output voltage in volts/0.05 ohms, whichever is less