How to choose your BioLogic potentiostat
A potentiostat is an instrument your lab will live with for years, so it pays to get the configuration right. BioLogic instruments are modular, so you can add channels, EIS boards and boosters later, but there are still choices to make up front.
As ProDigitek, authorised BioLogic distributor in Australia, we help researchers and lab managers with these choices every week. This guide covers the three big questions: which range, how many channels, and how much current.
Essential or Premium: which BioLogic range suits your lab?
BioLogic splits its potentiostats into two families. Both run the same EC-Lab® software; the difference is measurement performance.
The Essential range
BioLogic describes Essential instruments as robust workhorse potentiostats with standard acquisition times. Key specifications:
EIS from 10 µHz to 1 MHz
Sampling of 1 data point every 20 µs
Up to 6 current ranges, from 10 µA to 1 A on the standard board, with ±20 nA accuracy on the lowest range
Up to 800 A with external boosters
Pick Essential if your work is battery, supercapacitor, fuel cell or general electrochemistry research, or teaching, where microamp to amp currents are the norm. It is also the home of very high current work, as only Essential instruments accept the external boosters that reach 800 A.
Essential models: SP-50e, SP-150e, VSP, VSP-3e, VMP-3e, and the high current HCP-803 and HCP-1005.
The Premium range
BioLogic designed the Premium range for researchers who need the fastest, most precise instruments. Key specifications:
EIS from 10 µHz to 11 MHz
Sampling as fast as 1 data point every µs (with the Analog Ramp Generator option)
9 current ranges from 10 nA to 1 A on the standard board, or 13 ranges down to 1 pA with the Ultra Low Current option, giving ±100 fA accuracy on the 1 pA range
Floating mode, hardware filtering and a built-in calibration board
Up to 150 A with internal boosters
Pick Premium if you work with corrosion and coatings, sensors, electroanalysis, electrocatalysis or fast kinetics, where low currents, high frequency EIS or very fast scans matter. Premium is also the choice for floating measurements and for permeation work (WE to ground mode), which Essential instruments do not offer.
Premium models: SP-200, SP-300, VSP-300 and VMP-300.
Single channel or multichannel?
Next, think about how many experiments will run at once, and how many people will share the instrument.
Single channel instruments such as the SP-50e, SP-200, HCP-803 and HCP-1005 suit one user or a dedicated test station. The SP-200 is a compact, transportable unit suited to general electrochemistry and corrosion.
Two channel instruments such as the SP-150e and SP-300 let two researchers work independently. The SP-300 can also take a second potentiostat board for bipotentiostat experiments such as rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) work, or a high current booster board instead.
Multichannel chassis are built for groups running long experiments in parallel, such as battery cycling:
5 channel chassis: VSP (Essential)
6 channel chassis: VSP-300 (Premium)
8 channel chassis: VSP-3e (Essential)
16 channel chassis: VMP-3e (Essential) and VMP-300 (Premium)
All of these connect over Ethernet as well as USB, so several users can control channels from their own computers. You don't have to fill every slot on day one; add channels on site as your group grows.
Choosing your channel boards
Each channel is a board you configure to suit your work:
Standard boards handle DC techniques such as voltammetry, chronoamperometry and cycling.
EIS capable boards add impedance spectroscopy, up to 1 MHz on Essential and up to 11 MHz on Premium. On Essential instruments, EIS Quality Indicators (THD, NSD and NSR) are available with the "e" type channel boards.
Ultra Low Current (ULC) is a Premium option that extends a channel down to the 1 pA range. It is the one to choose for corrosion, coatings and sensor work.
Booster boards occupy a slot in Premium chassis (SP-300, VSP-300, VMP-300) to raise current, as covered below.
Model comparison at a glance
Values are from BioLogic's published specifications. Maximum current is the standard per channel value, with BioLogic's highest booster figure in brackets.
Model | Range | Channels | Max current | EIS |
SP-50e | Essential | 1 | ±1 A | Up to 1 MHz (option) |
SP-150e | Essential | 2 | ±1 A (up to 800 A with four FlexP0012) | Up to 1 MHz (option) |
VSP | Essential | 5 | ±400 mA (up to 800 A with external boosters) | Up to 1 MHz (option per channel) |
VSP-3e | Essential | 8 | ±1 A (up to 800 A with external boosters) | Up to 1 MHz (option) |
VMP-3e | Essential | 16 | ±1 A (up to 800 A with external boosters) | Up to 1 MHz (option) |
HCP-803 | Essential | 1 | ±80 A at ±3 V | 10 µHz to 10 kHz |
HCP-1005 | Essential | 1 | ±100 A, 0.6 to 5 V | 10 µHz to 10 kHz |
SP-200 | Premium | 1 | ±500 mA (up to 120 A with four HCV-3048) | Up to 11 MHz (option) |
SP-300 | Premium | 2 | ±500 mA (up to 10 A with internal booster) | Up to 11 MHz (option) |
VSP-300 | Premium | 6 | ±500 mA (up to 40 A with 4 boosters in parallel) | Up to 11 MHz (option) |
VMP-300 | Premium | 16 | ±500 mA (up to 150 A with internal boosters) | Up to 11 MHz (option) |
Booster options for high current work
If you test large format batteries, fuel cell stacks, electrolysers or supercapacitors, a booster lets your potentiostat drive far more current. As a rule of thumb, Essential boosters go higher in current, while Premium boosters keep more EIS bandwidth.
Essential boosters
These work with the SP-150e, VSP, VSP-3e and VMP-3e (not the SP-50e). Each booster channel connects to a single potentiostat channel.
Booster chassis: an external unit with 8 slots for 2 A, 5 A, 10 A or 20 A booster boards, on ±10 V adjustable from -20 to +20 V. Boosters up to 20 A are included in the autoranging.
80 A booster: ±80 A on ±3 V.
100 A booster: ±100 A on 0.6 to 5 V.
Internal 4 A kit (VSP only): takes two slots in the VSP chassis and needs a potentiostat board.
FlexP0060: 60 V and 50 A per unit, or 200 A with four in parallel. Suited to battery packs, redox flow batteries and fuel cell stacks.
FlexP0012: 12 V and 200 A per unit, or 800 A with four in parallel. Designed for fuel cell and electrolyser characterisation.
The HCP-803 and HCP-1005 combine a potentiostat with an 80 A or 100 A booster in one chassis, ideal if you want a dedicated high current station.
Premium boosters
Internal booster boards fit the SP-300, VSP-300 and VMP-300, plug in on site and are detected automatically by EC-Lab®:
±1 A at ±48 V (EIS up to 2 MHz)
±2 A at ±30 V (EIS up to 1 MHz)
±4 A at -3 to +14 V (EIS up to 1 MHz)
±10 A at -1 to +6 V (EIS up to 1 MHz)
Boosters of the same model can be paralleled for more current: up to 40 A in a VSP-300 and up to 150 A in a VMP-300. Different booster models cannot be mixed in parallel.
The HCV-3048 is an external Premium booster for battery packs and stacks, delivering ±30 A at 0 to 48 V, or ±120 A with four units in parallel, with EIS up to 500 kHz. It works with the SP-200, SP-300, VSP-300 and VMP-300.
Quick decision guide
Teaching or general electrochemistry on a budget: SP-50e
Flexible single user research with room to grow into high current: SP-150e
Battery and energy groups needing many channels: VSP-3e or VMP-3e
Corrosion, coatings, sensors or picoamp currents: SP-200 or SP-300 with ULC
RRDE and bipotentiostat work: SP-300 with a second potentiostat board
Shared Premium instrument for a research group: VSP-300 or VMP-300
Dedicated high current station: HCP-803 (fuel cells, supercapacitors) or HCP-1005 (batteries)
Talk to a BioLogic potentiostat specialist in Australia
The best configuration depends on your chemistry, currents, frequencies and how many people share the instrument. ProDigitek is BioLogic's authorised distributor in Australia, based in Seven Hills NSW. We provide local installation, training and support for Australian labs, and BioLogic chassis never have to leave Australia for repair or calibration.
Tell us about your research and we'll recommend a configuration that fits today and grows with you. Call us on (02) 9674 4222 or email sales@prodigitek.com.
Comments