What is Basic Accuracy of an LCR Meter?
Why is Basic Accuracy of an LCR Meter Important?
Not all 0.05% LCR Meters are created equal………
LCR meters from manufacturers such as: IET Labs, Hioki, Keysight, Wayne Kerr and others all state Basic Accuracy.
This is the accuracy under ideal frequency typically 1 kHz, a signal level of 1 Vac, and ideal impedance.
If you are using an LCR meter for example to calibrate a capacitor then part of your measurement uncertainty calculation is reference standard uncertainty which would include the accuracy of the LCR meter under the specific test conditions.
Using the Basic Accuracy of 0.05% for an LCR meter can be misleading as shown in the table below.
Compare the IET Labs 7600 Plus versus the Hioki IM3536
| 7600 Plus | Hioki IM3536 |
Basic Accuracy stated by mfg. | ±0.05 % | ±0.05 % |
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1 kHz | Accuracy via built-in calculator | Accuracy via online Calculator1 |
10 pF | ±0.30 % | ±16 % |
100 pF | ±0.27 % | ±2.7 % |
1000 pF | ±0.07 % | ±1.3 % |
10 nF | ±0.05 % | ±0.87 % |
100 nF | ±0.05 % | ±0.24 % |
1000 nF | ±0.05 % | ±0.85 % |
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1 MHz |
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10 pF | ±0.26 % | ±4.8 % |
100 pF | ±0.06 % | ±2.1 % |
1000 pF | ±0.06 % | ±1.6 % |
10 nF | ±0.06 % | ±2.6 % |
100 nF | ±0.11 % | ±5.3 % |
1000 nF | ±0.53 % | ±27 % |
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1 Accuracy was taken from https://www.hioki.com/e/products/lcr/im_calc_accur/ IM accuracy calculator.