The Tektronix Type S is a 500-series plug-in for measuring semiconductor diode recovery characteristics.

Tektronix Type S
Diode recovery tester plug-in
Type S front view

Compatible with 500-series scopes

Produced from 1960 to 1967

Manuals
(All manuals in PDF format unless noted otherwise)

It can be thought of as having two parts, a stimulus subsystem and a measurement subsystem. The stimulus comes from mercury switch that drives a 6GM8/ECC86 tube that operates in a current-steering mode. The measurement subsystem is a wideband amplifier that converts the single-ended voltage on the diode under test to the differential signal that the oscilloscope mainframe takes. One terminal of the diode is grounded.

Measurements with the Type S are typically made by applying a current step to the diode while observing the voltage across the diode.

The Type S was introduced in 1960 and produced through 1966.

Key Specifications

Current ranges Forward – 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 mA; Reverse – 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mA
Vertical Deflection 50 or 500 mV/div
Shunt Capacitance ~16 pF at 50 mV/div, ~9 pF at 500 mV/div
Rise time 1 ns

Pictures

Components

Some Parts Used in the S

Part Part Number(s) Class Description Used in
12AT7 154-0039-00 Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode) dual high-gain triode 161 180 310 310A 315 316 360 502 502A 511A 512 513 513D 514 514AD 514D 516 524 529 RM529 544 546 547 556 565 570 3A2 75 3A75 1M1 A B C G H K L ML M N K R S Z
12AU6 154-0040-00 Vacuum Tube (Pentode) RF pentode 81 112 1L10 1L20 1L60 3L10 512 556 575 545 547 549 581 585 A B C G K H L ML M N O R S Z
6AK5 154-0014-00 154-0206-00 154-0084-00 Vacuum Tube (Pentode) RF pentode B C CA G K L ML S Z 517 517A 524
6GM8 154-259 154-0259-00 Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode) dual triode 81 516 S