The Reference 600 has been replaced
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System Highlights
Overview
The Reference 600 is a high-performance, research-grade potentiostat/galvanostat/ZRA designed for fast, low-current measurements. It does well for a variety of applications such as physical electrochemistry (especially at microelectrodes), fast cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical corrosion, electrochemical noise measurements, paints and coatings, and sensors.
It has a number of auxiliary input and outputs designed to help you interface or control ancillary equipment such as a rotating disc electrode. It also has a thermocouple for temperature measurements.
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
The Reference 600 comes fully equipped to perform electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The Accuracy Contour Plot shown below provides a detailed look at the performance you can expect from your instrument in real-world situations. The results include the cell cable.

Options
- Extended Cable Lengths
- Extended length cell cables (1.5 m, 3 m, 10 m) are also available for your convenience.
 
More details
Below are additional details regarding the capabilities of the Reference 600 potentiostat. Each bullet point contains a list of the type of techniques available for the instrument to run.
- Physical Electrochemistry - Techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and chronopotentiometry and derivatives of these techniques.
- Pulse Voltammetry - Techniques such as pulse voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and associated stripping techniques such as anodic stripping voltammetry.
- DC Corrosion - Run standard DC corrosion tests such as polarization resistance, potentiodynamic, cyclic polarization, and galvanic corrosion in addition to a number of others.
- Electrochemical Energy - Test single-cells and stacks of various batteries, fuel cells or supercapacitors. Includes charge, discharge, cyclic charge-discharge techniques, potentiostatic, galvanostatic, self-discharge, leakage rate, and read cell voltage.
- Electrochemical Signal Analyzer - Designed specifically for the acquisition and analysis of time-dependent electrochemical noise signals. Cell voltage and current are continuously monitored at rates from 0.1 Hz to 1 kHz. A full featured set of analysis tools provides powerful analysis features such as statistical analysis, detrending, impedance spectra, and histogram analysis.
- Electrochemical Frequency Modulation - A non-destructive corrosion rate measurement technique. It allows for measurement of the corrosion rate without prior knowledge of the Tafel constants. In addition, the technique determines the Tafel constants and provides 2 internal validity checks.
- Critical Pitting Temperature - controls a Gamry Potentiostat, TDC4 Temperature Controller, and associated accessories to automatically measure the Critical Pitting Temperature of a material.
- Electrochemical Noise - A more general form of electrochemical noise testing. It is also an ECM8 Multiplexer compatible electrochemical noise software package.
- Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy - includes experimental scripts for potentiostatic, galvanostatic and hybrid impedance spectroscopy experiments in addition to single frequency techniques like Mott-Schottky. We also have our unique power-leveling multisine technique that improves signal-to-noise across the spectrum. On the analysis side, it provides tools for fitting spectra to equivalent circuit models, Kramers-Kronig transform for data validation and a graphical model editor. Our software even includes a script for EIS simulation.
- eChemAC - Includes full capabilities of eChemDC Toolkit plus allows electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and EFM experiments.
Other options
- 2, 3, and 4 electrode measurements
- Electrical Isolation
- Floating instrument: use with autoclaves, mechanical stress apparatus, or pipeline probes.
 
- Portable
- Size of a chemistry textbook, weighing only 3 kgs (6.6 lbs). Easy USB 2.0 connection to a Windows computer.
 
- Built-In EIS
- On-board DDS to perform EIS from 10 µHz to 1 MHz.
 
- DSP (Digital Signal Processing) Mode
- Oversamples for improved signal-to-noise and accurate capacitance measurements.
 
- Current Interrupt and Positive Feedback iR Compensation
- Gamry potentiostats and their controlling software use control loop algorithms to accurately measure and correct for uncompensated resistance.
 
- Auxiliary I/O
- Control additional equipment via additional I/O interfaces: external signal input, analog voltage output, analog current output, auxiliary A/D input, and digital I/O connector.
 
- Warranty
- Protected by 2-year factory service warranty.
 
Specs and Images
| REFERENCE 600 | |
| Potentiostat | YES | 
| Galvanostat | YES | 
| Zero Resistance Ammeter | YES | 
| Cell Connections | 2, 3, or 4 | 
| Floating (Isolated from Earth) | YES | 
| WEIGHT | 3 kg | 
| DIMENSIONS | 9 (W) x 19 (H) x 27 (D) cm | 
| SYSTEM | |
| Max Current | ± 600 mA | 
| Current Ranges | 11 (60 pA - 600 mA) | 
| Current Ranges (w/Internal Gain applied) | 13 (600 fA - 600 mA) | 
| Min Voltage Resolution | 1 μV | 
| Min Current Resolution | 20 aA | 
| Max Applied Potential | ± 11 V | 
| Rise Time | <250 ns | 
| Noise and Ripple | <10 μV rms | 
| Noise and Ripple (typical) | <2 μV rms | 
| Min Time Base | 3.333 μs | 
| Max Time Base | 715 s | 
| Min Potential Step | 12.5 μV | 
| EIS MEASUREMENT | |
| Frequency Range | 10 μHz - 1 MHz | 
| EIS Accuracy | See Accuracy Contour Plot | 
| Max AC Amplitude | 3 V max | 
| CONTROL AMP | |
| Compliance Voltage | ± 22 V | 
| Output Current | > ± 600 mA | 
| Speed Settings | 5 | 
| Unity Gain Bandwidth | 980, 260, 40, 4, 0.4 kHz | 
| ELECTROMETER | |
| Input Impedance | >1014 Ω | 
| Input Current | <5 pA | 
| Input Current (typical) | <2 pA | 
| Bandwidth (-3dB) (typical) | >15 MHz | 
| Common Mode Rejection Ratio | >80 dB (3 Hz) >60 dB (1 MHz) | 
| APPLIED POTENTIAL | |
| Accuracy | ± 1 mV ± 0.2% of setting | 
| Accuracy (typical) | ± 375 μV ± 0.04% of reading | 
| Resolution | 12.5 μV, 50 μV, 200 μV/bit | 
| Drift | <20 μV/°C | 
| Potential Scan Range | ± 0.4 V, ± 1.6 V, ± 6.4 V | 
| MEASURED POTENTIAL | |
| Accuracy | ± 1 mV ± 0.2% of reading | 
| Accuracy (typical) | ± 250 μV ± 0.05% of reading | 
| Full-Scale Ranges | 12 V, 3 V, 300 mV, 30 mV | 
| Resolution | 400 μV, 100 μV, 10 μV, 1 μV/bit | 
| Offset Range | ± 10 V | 
| CURRENT | |
| Applied/Measured Accuracy | ± 10 pA ± 0.05% of range ± 0.2% of value (600 mA-6 nA) or 0.75% of value (600 pA) or 1.5% of value (60 pA) | 
| Applied/Measured Resolution | 0.0033% full-scale/bit | 
| Bandwidth (-3 dB) NOTE: Bandwidth is current range dependent. | > 10 MHz (600 mA - 600 μA) > 1.5 MHz (60 μA) > 0.15 MHz (6 μA) | 
| Stability Settings | 4 | 
| Post Offset Gain | 1, 10, 100 | 
| Offset Range | ± 1X full-scale | 
| iR COMPENSATION | |
| Mode | Current Interrupt and Positive Feedback | 
| Min Interrupt Time | 33 μs | 
| Max Interrupt Time | 715 s | 
| AUXILIARY A/D INPUT | |
| Range | ± 3 V | 
| Resolution | 0.1 mV | 
| Input Impedance | >100 kΩ or >10 GΩ | 
| AUXILIARY D/A OUTPUT | |
| Range | 0-4 V | 
| Resolution | 1 mV | 
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