Good Day,
this is not about a self-made curve tracer, but those interested in PC-based measurement equipment might be entertained by this.
I use a "Electronic Explorer" device from Digilent/US for a few years now. This is basically a simple USB-connected, FPGA-based multi-instrument that integrates an 4-channel oscilloscope, 2-channel arbitrary waveform generator, simple logic analyzer and a power supply in combination with a solderless breadboard. I primarily use it for the quick evaluation of simple circuits whenever needed. It also supports Bode plots etc. The "Electronic Explorer" hardware platform is outdated by now, but it still supported by Digilent's "Waveforms" software.
If any Digilent employee reads this: Thank you for doing that. Digilent (which is a NI company, by the way) has released a "transistor test adapter" some time ago. That is an add-on for their more recent USB-based instruments such as the "Analog Discovery 2" device.
https://digilent.com/reference/test-and-measurement/transistor-tester-adapter/reference-manualAnd so they have also added the required settings in form of a virtual curve tracer to the mentioned "Waveforms" software. I have created my own version of a curve tracer in Waveforms some time ago (this is primarily a configuration of the two-channel waveform generator, and not too hard to do). However, I have tried this new "tracer" configuration and attached are a few plots I have generated from a standard BC337-40 BJT today. (Side note: The noise level results from the wiring and the two curves on the right are artefacts).
It's quite nice to see how the curves are generated, a large data set gets acquired very quickly and how the data can be exported to a database, MS Excel etc.
Also, the software offers a 3D-view of the collected data that is quite fascinating.
https://digilent.com/reference/test-and-measurement/guides/waveforms-curve-tracer This is not a real curve tracer in terms that the voltage and current supplies are limited (+/-10V, 35 Ohms output impedance each channel for the "Electronic Explorer"). But it's an excellent starting point into the fascinating world of component testing. It's also certainly good enough to match some small signal transistors /BJTs or FETs/ as well as diodes.
Have a great weekend, all.
Cheers,
THDplusN_bad