rhd instruments GmbH & Co. KG, Otto-Hesse-Str.
19/T3, 64293 Darmstadt
Tel.: 06151-8707187, E-Mail: info@[Link]
RelaxIS 3 – Advanced Tutorial
Contents of this Tutorial
In this tutorial you will learn the following steps:
• Loading a RelaxIS project folder
• Navigating multiple projects in the same folder
• Data-Validation using the Kramers-Kronig test
• Advanced initialization methods for fit parameters
• Exporting data into spreadsheets and reports
Please follow the steps in this tutorial to learn more advanced features of RelaxIS. Please install and
start RelaxIS 3 to begin.
Step 1 Open the Project Folder
On the Welcome Screen click “Open project folder” or, if you deactivated the Welcome
Screen, choose Main > Project Folder > Open from the ribbon bar.
In the Filename field, enter: %relaxis_appdata%\Tutorials\Advanced and press Enter.
Select AdvancedTutorialData.eis3 and click Open.
Step 2 – Navigating different projects
The project folder contains two different projects. Too navigate between them use the
Main > Project Folder > Manage Projects button.
In the management dialog you can add or remove projects by using the + and – buttons,
and you can edit the title and description for existing ones.
To continue, please select the Data Part 2 project and click on Switch Project.
RelaxIS - Impedance Spectrum Analysis © 2013-2017 Jens Wallauer
rhd instruments GmbH & Co. KG, Otto-Hesse-Str. 19/T3, 64293 Darmstadt
Tel.: 06151-8707187, E-Mail: info@[Link]
Step 3 – Performing Kramers-Kronig-Tests
• Select the “Multiple Semicircles” dataset.
• Click the Data and Quality > Data Quality > Kramers-Kronig-Test button.
• Use the plots to inspect how well the simulated curve reflects the measured
data.
In this dataset the simulation perfectly overlaps the data. It is therefore very trustworthy
data.
• Close the Kramers-Kronig-Test dialog.
• Select the “Randles-Circuit” dataset
• Click the Data and Quality > Data Quality > Kramers-Kronig-Test button.
• Use the plots to inspect how well the simulated curve reflects the measured data.
In this dataset the overlap in the low-frequency domain is only good if a series capacitance
is fitted in the complex fit, due to the Warburg behavior. Play with the settings to see the
differences.
• Close the Kramers-Kronig dialog to continue.
Step 4 – Initializing the Fit Parameters using Shapes
Drawing the shapes
Select the “Multiple Semicircles” dataset. Assign this spectrum to the model
R-(R)(P)-(R)(P)
Please refer to the Basic Tutorial or the manual if you are unsure how to do this.
Click the Fitting > Parameter Helpers > Add Circle button.
RelaxIS - Impedance Spectrum Analysis © 2013-2017 Jens Wallauer
rhd instruments GmbH & Co. KG, Otto-Hesse-Str. 19/T3, 64293 Darmstadt
Tel.: 06151-8707187, E-Mail: info@[Link]
Click & drag anywhere in the Data Explorer graph and notice the circle that appears. The position of
the circle is not critical at first. Release the mouse button and click & drag the blue arrows on the circle
to position the red circle shape on the left semicircle of the data.
You can delete shapes by right-clicking on one of the blue handles on the shape.
Repeat this to place another red circle on the right semicircle of the data.
Calculating initial parameters for the shapes
In the Parameter Explorer window you can notice the symbols at the top representing the shapes you
have drawn before.
• Click and hold the left mouse-button on the symbol “Circle (#1)”.
• Drag the mouse into the parameter list below.
• Notice the green arrows appearing at Resistance/CPE-Q/CPE-Alpha combinations.
• While still holding the left mouse-button move the mouse cursor onto “Resistance 2”.
• Release the mouse-button.
• Notice the new values that were calculated for the three parameters (that were indicated by
the green arrows).
Repeat these steps to assign “Circle (#2)” to Resistance 3, CPE Q 2 and CPE Alpha 2.
Notice that the blue curve already seems to nearly fit the data. The fit is now initialized very well and
you can fit the spectrum.
Using the Line Tool
Navigate to the “Unassigned Files” group using the combobox in the Spectra Explorer
window and find the “Randles-Circuit” dataset.
Assign this dataset to the circuit
R-(RW)(C)
Add a red circle fitting the semi-circle in the data.
Now click the Fitting > Parameter Helpers > Add Line button. Similar to drawing a circle, draw a line
that fits the linear low-frequency part of the spectrum.
RelaxIS - Impedance Spectrum Analysis © 2013-2017 Jens Wallauer
rhd instruments GmbH & Co. KG, Otto-Hesse-Str. 19/T3, 64293 Darmstadt
Tel.: 06151-8707187, E-Mail: info@[Link]
In the Parameter Explorer window drag the “Line (#2)” symbol into the parameter list and release it
on “Warburg Coeff. 1”.
Also, drag “Circle (#1)” into the list so it marks “Resistance 2” and “Capacitance 1”.
Notice, that this fit is now also initialized very well.
Step 6 – Using the Genetic Algorithm to Perform a Fit
Navigate to the “Unassigned Spectra” model using the combobox in the Spectra Explorer
window and find the “Complex Data” dataset.
Assign this dataset to the circuit
R-(C)(Ws)-Wo
Click the lower part of the Fitting > Perform Fits > Auto Fit button and select Advanced
Search.
In the Genetic Algorithm dialog click the Start button and wait for the algorithm to converge. The Best
Fitness value should be well below 10-20 in this example.
You can also experiment with altering the Minimum and Maximum values for the parameters and
watch the effect on the speed of convergence.
When you are satisfied with the results, please click the Accept button, which enters the found
parameters as initial parameters for the spectrum and performs a Single Fit.
Click on the lower part of the Fitting > Perform Fits > Auto Fit button and select Single Quick or
Thorough to perform an Auto Fit of the spectrum, which will run the Genetic Algorithm with default
settings and thus automatically fits the spectrum. Compare the non-deterministic nature of the fit,
meaning that it may not work well sometimes, with the Thorough fit having a higher success rate.
RelaxIS - Impedance Spectrum Analysis © 2013-2017 Jens Wallauer
rhd instruments GmbH & Co. KG, Otto-Hesse-Str. 19/T3, 64293 Darmstadt
Tel.: 06151-8707187, E-Mail: info@[Link]
Step 7 – Exporting Data into Spreadsheets
• Click the Main > Export Functions > Export Center button.
• Select Spectrum Export and click “File Selection”.
• Select “Current Group” and click OK.
• In the Select transfer function dialog, select “Impedance” and click Next.
• Exclude “All fit frequencies”, “All fit real parts” and “All fit imag. parts”.
• Click “To clipboard” and paste the data into e.g. Notepad, Excel or another program of your
choice.
• The other exporters work in a similar fashion.
Step 8 – Creating Reports
• Click the Main > Export Functions > Create Report button.
• Select the RelaxIS General template from the list and click Select template.
• In the Spectra Selection dialog, choose All spectra and click OK.
• Browse to a location of your choice on your hard-drive and enter a filename for the report,
e.g. [Link] and click Save.
• The report is now created and displayed in your default web-browser. You can use any PDF-
printing software to convert the HTML-document into a PDF if you like.
Summary
You have learned how to open an existing project folder and navigate the projects contained in it.
You have seen how you can use the Kramers-Kronig-Test to test the validity of the data on two different
example spectra.
Afterwards you have used different initialization methods, namely drawing shapes and using the
Genetic Algorithm, to initialize and fit various sets of data.
In the last step you have learned how to export raw data into other software and how you can create
reports to easily visualize your fit results.
RelaxIS - Impedance Spectrum Analysis © 2013-2017 Jens Wallauer