TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Version 2000-01-4

Head stage: 20 x 20 x 90 mm (duraluminium)
Cable: 1.3 m (flexible)
Controller (main console): 19" rack mounting; 134 x 487 x 236 mm, weight cca. 2.5kg
Power requirements: 115 - 230 AC, 50 - 60 Hz, 20 W, fuse T 0.6A or T0.3A.

CONVENTIONAL PATCH-CLAMP MEASURING MODES:

1) Voltage-Clamp modes:
Noise (8 pole low pass Bessel, RMS, -3dB, 100 GOhm resistor)

• 330 Hz ..... 25 fA
• 1000 Hz ..... 40 fA
• 3300 Hz ..... 100 fA
• 10000 Hz ..... 240 fA

Current monitor output: filtered, Bessel, 8 pole LP, -3dB (0.33; 1.00; 3.33; 10.00 kHz)
Gain: 1 GOhm and 100 GOhm measuring resistors, automatically switched from main console by gain switch.
Range: 1 GOhm resistor 20 pA/V to 1 nA/V; 100 GOhm resistor 10 pA/V to 1 pA/V
Risetime: 1 GOhm resistor 5 us and with 100 GOhm resistor 10 us (5 frequency compensation stages).
Audio alarm monitor for head stage and main console electronic circuit saturation.
Amperometry mode: voltage clamping carbon fibres at ± 1200 mV

2) Tracking mode:
Enables membrane sealing observation, sets the average current monitor output to zero value (low speed current-clamp mode).
Reset: Speeds current zero setting.
Pipette offset potential adjustment: ± 100 mV; polarity selection switch.

3) Pipette holding potential:
Range: ± 200 mV, polarity selection switch
Pipette potential display 3 1/2 digit LCD DVM
Pipette potential output: x 10.
Stimulus input scaling: 0.000, 0.001, 0.010, 0.050, 0.100, -0.100
Stimulus input time constant selection: 1 and 10 us.

4) Transient signal cancellation: (2 cancellation stages)
Fast capacitance range (cancellation of the pipette holder stray capacitance):
0 to 10 pF; 0.5 to 10.0 us.
Slow capacitance range (cancellation of membrane capacitance):
0.01 - 1 pF; 0.1 - 10 pF; 1 - 100 pF
Series conductance cancellation: 0 - 1 uS for 0.1 - 10 pF and 1 - 100 pF range;
0 - 100 nS for the 0.01 - 1 pF range.
Optional increment 1% of whole slow capacitance range (used in compensated capacitance measurements; see below).

5) Series conductance cancellation:
Range: 0 - 1 uS (automatically determined from transient cancellation controls). Compensation level : 0 to 90 % for slow (8 kHz) and fast response (30 kHz).

6) Current-clamp mode:
Current-clamp and current-clamp and command modes (bandwidth 10 kHz; 1 GOhm resistor in use only).
Holding current range: ± 1 nA (polarity selection switch).
Command input scaling: 1 nA/V.

CAPACITANCE MEASUREMENT MODES

Adjust mode, Measure mode, Gate mode
Noise: (1600 Hz, 111.3 mV RMS, 100 GOhm feedback resistor)
30 Hz (4 pole LP Bessel, - 3dB) 12 aF RMS

Digitally generated sine wave signal and dual-phase lock-in amplifier:
(omega = 10000 or 5000; 1600 Hz, 800 Hz) amplitude from 1.11 - 111,3 mV RMS.
Real and imaginary part of admittance monitors: (G, C), filtered, LP, Bessel, 2 pole; full, 30, 10, 3, 1 Hz.
Digital phase setting: 0.1 degree accuracy.
Phase angle display: 3 1/2 digit LCD DVM (99.9 degrees).
Adjust mode: enables phase setting using an automatic calibrated signal simulating cell membrane capacitance changes (1 % of slow capacitance change; optional 1 MOhm resistance change).
Measure mode: locks the 1% capacitance steps.
Gate mode: TTL controlled intermittent capacitance measurement (TTL controls the sine wave generator), can be used as a stand-by mode.

(Specifications subject to change without notice.)