How to Use PyMeasure for Automated Instrument Control and Lab Experiments

Modern labs demand automation, precision, and speed—whether you're running I-V sweeps, temperature profiles, or optical characterizations. PyMeasure is an open-source Python package designed to automate these tasks by controlling lab instruments with clean, readable code.

In this post, we’ll walk through the basics of installing and using PyMeasure to run your first automated experiment.

🧪 What is PyMeasure?

PyMeasure is a Python package that simplifies instrument control and experimental automation. It wraps SCPI/GPIB/USB/serial commands in intuitive Python classes and provides tools for:

Creating repeatable measurement procedures
Logging and saving results
Live data plotting
GUI support for interactive control panels

⚙️ Step 1: Installation

You can install PyMeasure using either pip or conda:

# Recommended via conda
conda install -c conda-forge pymeasure

# Or via pip
pip install pymeasure

Ensure you also have VISA installed if you're using USB/GPIB interfaces. We recommend using NI-VISA or pyvisa-py backend.

🔌 Step 2: Connect to Your Instrument

PyMeasure comes with drivers for many common lab instruments. Here's a simple example using a Keithley 2400 source meter:

from pymeasure.instruments.keithley import Keithley2400

smu = Keithley2400("GPIB::24")  # or "USB0::0x05E6::0x2400::XYZ::INSTR"
smu.apply_current(0.001, compliance_voltage=10)
print(f"Measured voltage: {smu.voltage} V")

You can now control the device just like any Python object—setting values and reading measurements.

📈 Step 3: Run an Automated Measurement Script

Let’s run a simple I-V sweep using the same Keithley:

import numpy as np

currents = np.linspace(-1e-3, 1e-3, 50)
voltages = []

for i in currents:
    smu.source_current = i
    voltages.append(smu.voltage)
    print(f"I: {i:.6f} A, V: {voltages[-1]:.6f} V")

You can save the data to CSV for further analysis.

🧪 Step 4: Use `Procedure` for Full Experiments

Create a repeatable, configurable experiment using the Procedure class:

from pymeasure.experiment import Procedure, IntegerParameter, FloatParameter
from pymeasure.experiment.results import Results
from pymeasure.experiment.workers import Worker

class IVSweepProcedure(Procedure):
    start = FloatParameter("Start Current", units="A", default=-1e-3)
    stop = FloatParameter("Stop Current", units="A", default=1e-3)
    steps = IntegerParameter("Steps", default=50)

    def startup(self):
        self.instrument = Keithley2400("GPIB::24")

    def execute(self):
        for i in np.linspace(self.start, self.stop, self.steps):
            self.instrument.source_current = i
            voltage = self.instrument.voltage
            self.emit('results', {'current': i, 'voltage': voltage})

This procedure can now be run in CLI or GUI mode.

🖥️ Step 5: Add a GUI (Optional)

PyMeasure includes a GUI framework:

from pymeasure.display.windows import ManagedWindow

class IVApp(ManagedWindow):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(
            procedure_class=IVSweepProcedure,
            inputs=["start", "stop", "steps"],
            displays=["current", "voltage"],
            x_axis="current", y_axis="voltage"
        )
        self.setWindowTitle("I-V Measurement")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = IVApp()
    app.show()

🔌 Supported Instruments

PyMeasure supports instruments from:

Keithley
Tektronix
Keysight
Thorlabs
NI and more…

You can also create your own instrument class by inheriting from Instrument.

🧰 Use Cases

Semiconductor I-V curve tracing
Thermoelectric cooling tests
Fiber optic testing
Photovoltaic cell characterization
Automated reliability tests

✅ Conclusion

PyMeasure makes it easy to automate your lab, save time, and ensure reproducibility. Whether you're in research or production QA, PyMeasure can scale from simple tests to full GUIs.

📖 Read the official docs