Simple Current Pulse Generator

Time-dependent voltage measurements are easy to take, with just a test probe and an oscilloscope. These days signals from DC up to a few tens of MHz can be viewed and analyzed with this setup with no difficulty. Making current measurements like this is a bit more difficult, however. A pulse generator is very useful for verifying measurements made with shunts or current clamps. This article describes a simple current pulse generator and shows how you can use it to test and make comparisons between various shunt setups.