mikroamperes

Mikroamperes, also written microamperes and abbreviated as μA, are a unit of electric current equal to one millionth of an ampere. The micro prefix denotes 10^-6, so 1 μA = 10^-6 A, and 1 A equals 1,000,000 μA. In practical terms, microamperes are used to express small currents typical in electronics, sensors, and certain biomedical measurements.

The microampere is a submultiple of the ampere within the SI system. It is convenient for describing currents in low-power circuits, input and bias currents of transistors, sensor interfaces, and photodiode or electrochemical sensor applications where currents fall in the μA range rather than milliamperes or amperes.

Measuring microamperes requires appropriate instrumentation. Digital multimeters often provide a μA range for direct measurement, while higher-precision work may use instrument amplifiers, picoammeters, or electrometers. A common method is to convert current to a voltage with a known low-value shunt resistor and measure the voltage drop, or to use current-to-voltage conversion circuits such as transimpedance amplifiers.

Conversions to other prefixes are straightforward: 1 μA = 1,000 nA = 1,000,000 pA. This scale makes μA a practical unit for describing small currents found in modern low-power electronics and precision instrumentation.

See also: nanoamperes, milliamperes, amperes.