The Type 576 Curve Tracer is a dynamic semiconductor tester which allows display and measurement of characteristic curves of a variety of two and three terminal devices including bipolar transistors, field effect transistors, MOS-FETs, silicon controlled rectifiers and unijunction transistors. A variety of possible measurements is available using either grounded emitter or grounded base configurations. The instrument has available either an AC or a DC collector supply voltage ranging from 0 to *1500 volts. The step generator produces either current or voltage steps, which may be applied to either the base terminal or the emitter terminal of the device under test. Step generator outputs range from 5 nA to 2 A in the current mode, and from 5 mV to 40 V in the voltage mode. The steps may also be produced as short duration pulses. Calibrated step offset allows offsetting the step generator output either positive or negative. The vertical display ampltifier measures either collector current or leakage current with a maximum deflection factor of 1 nA/division when making a leakage measurement.