WinATE: Windows automation of test equipment

We present WinATE, a new computer program to measure the electronic transport properties of materials with energy applications. The C++ program we describe here is designed with a user-friendly graphical interface to automate measurement. WinATE controls laboratory test and measurement equipment through a RS-232 serial interface. It was designed to measure electronic properties of synthesized materials at cryogenic temperatures. The material reaches thermal equilibrium within 0.01 K of the target temperature, and the resulting raw data are recorded and displayed to the user in a real-time plot. WinATE will independently capture electrical resistivity and temperature data, thus eliminating user entry errors. Current and voltage data can also be collected. New semiconductor materials can be characterized with this software by calculating the transport gap from resistivity measurements. The goal of WinATE is to increase the discovery rate of more energy efficient materials through automated data collection.