OPERATION MANUALFP-MA permittivity measurement software

EM LABS INC.

March 11, 2024

Table of Contents
1.

Product Overview.............................................................................................................22.

System Requirement ........................................................................................................2
OS ........................................................................................................................................2
Usable analyzers...................................................................................................................2

3.

Install and Uninstall .........................................................................................................3
How to Install .......................................................................................................................3
How to uninstall ...................................................................................................................34.

Preparation for measurement...........................................................................................5
Instruments connection and sample preparation .................................................................5Start the Software.................................................................................................................5
Select the Resonator.............................................................................................................6
Setup Samples ......................................................................................................................7

5.

Measurement Procedure ................................................................................................10
1. Measurement start .........................................................................................................102. Empty measurement ......................................................................................................10
3. Sample selection.............................................................................................................13
4. sample insertion .............................................................................................................135. Position adjustment .......................................................................................................15
6. Sample measurement .....................................................................................................17
7. Data export ....................................................................................................................18

6.

If you think something is wrong... ..................................................................................19

7.

Reference........................................................................................................................20
Supplementary explanation of each function .....................................................................20Sample Setup ..................................................................................................................21
Position Adjustment .......................................................................................................22
FP-Broadband: Operating the band selector .................................................................23
FP-Broadband : Switching Low/High ............................................................................24

First edition: November 4, 2022
2nd edition: June 2, 2023
3rd edition: July 24, 2023
4th edition: March 11, 2024

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1. Product Overview
FP-MA Permittivity Measurement Software is designed to efficiently perform complex
relative permittivity measurement using FP series Fabry-Perot resonators. It controls aKeysight Technologies network analyzer to automatically acquire the necessary parameters
and output the complex permittivity.

2. System Requirement
This section describes the operating environment required to use the software.
OS・ Windows OS (Windows 10 /11)
・ Keysight IO Libraries
Usable analyzers
・ Keysight PNA Series Network AnalyzersNOTEPNA series with firmware A07.50.48 and later is supported.

23. Install and UninstallThis section provides detailed instructions on how to install and uninstall this software.
How to Install
1.

2.

Please have the following items ready at hand.
⚫

FPMASetup.msi software installer⚫

16-digit product key provided at the purchase

Run FPMASetup.msi on a Windows PC and follow the on-screen instructions to proceedwith the installation.

How to uninstall
Run FPMASetup.msi on your Windows PC and follow the on-screen instructions toproceed with the uninstallation.

3NOTEYou can also uninstall the permittivity measurement software using thestandard "Uninstall app" feature of Windows. In that case, follow theWindows instruction.

44. Preparation for measurement

Instruments connection and sample preparation
Before starting this software, prepare the hardware referring to FP series OPERATIONMANUAL.
Start the Software
Start [EM Lab FPMA Permittivity Measurement Software] from Windows.

The start screen is followed by Select Resonator box.

5

NOTE

If the window below opens, the network analyzer is not properly
connected to the PC. Check the connection and click Scan.

Select the Resonator

Select the resonator you areusing.
(Here, FP-Eband is selected.)
Click on OK .

NOTE

To change the resonator selection after clicking OK in SelectResonator box, quit and re-start the software.
NOTE

For the broadband model, the user must operate the band selector toswitch between Low and High. for details, see Chapter 7 Reference .

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Setup Samples

Click on Setup Samples.

Click Add.

7

New Sample 0 appears.

Click onEnter any value* for:
Name: (e.g. Sample1)
Thickness: (e.g. 100)
Click OK.
*Unit of thickness is ㎛.

8Registered samples are listed.

NOTE

Multiple samples can be registered. In addition, you can [Import] or[Export] the sample information. For details, please refer to Chapter
7.

95. Measurement Procedure
We will focus on basic measurement procedures here. Refer to Chapter 7 for more details oneach function.
Overall flow

The measurement proceeds as shown in the figure above, according to the display. The
following is an explanation of each step based on the screen display.
1. Measurement start
Completing the preparations described in the previous chapter, proceed the measurement
steps.

2. Empty measurement

10Perform ‘Empty’ (without a sample) measurement.

Insert the sample plates
to the sample holder.
Make suremark on each sample
plate comes outside.

Set the cover.

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Click Empty Measurement.
Wait a moment for the measurement to complete.

Empty measurement end.
The

empty

resonant

frequency/empty
displayed.

NOTE

When using FP-Broadband, the message 'Please push in the band
selector' or 'Please pull out the band selector' will be displayed asrequired. Follow the message and operate the band selector on theresonator. For more information, refer to 7. Reference FP-Broadband:
Operating the band selector.

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Qis3. Sample selection

Click on the sample you measure.
(Sample1 100 is selected here)

NOTE

You can register additional samples using Setup Samples. (Refer to theprevious chapter.)

4. sample insertion
Place the sample between thesample plates. At this time, observe
the following precautions.
1. Align the sample plates so thatmarks come on theoutside.
2. The sample should completely
cover the holes of the sampleplates.
3.

Thesample

shouldnotprotrude from the sample plate.

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Insert the sample plates into
the sample holder.

Push the sample plates firmly
into the bottom of the sampleholder.

Set the cover.

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5. Position adjustment

Click Position Adjustment.
(If an automatic/manual pulldown

menuautomatic.)

15

appears,

select"Tune the micrometer knob so that the line in the graph comes to the lowest position." isdisplayed, then operate the adjustment micrometer as follows.
(If resonance is not detected, refer to "Sample Positioning" in Chapter 7 Reference.)
Watching the screen, turnthe adjustment micrometerin the direction that thetrace sticks to the bottom.
← This line corresponds to ameasurement error of 1% for thepermittivity.

(If the trace does not stick to thebottombyturning

themicrometer, refer to "Sample
Position Adjustment" in Chapter
7.)

Keep

turningthemicrometer slowly until thetrace begins to rise in order
to confirm the bottom.
When it begins to rise, turnthe micrometer back andwhen the trace sticks to thebottom

again,

theadjustment is complete.
Click Exit.
After a while, you come tothe main screen.

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6. Sample measurement

Click on Sample Measurement.

NOTE

When using FP-Broadband, the message 'Please push in the band
selector' or 'Please pull out the band selector' will be displayed as
required. Follow the message and operate the band selector on theresonator. For more information, refer to 7. Reference FP-Broadband:
Operating the band selector.

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When all the measurement results are displayed, the measurement is complete.

7. Data export

Click Export Data.. to export themeasurement results (in Excel bookformat).

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Enter a file name (default is SampleName_SampleThickness_Date)and click Open.

6. If you think something is wrong...

When problems such as installation failure and software freeze occur, please contact us
directly from our website for support..
https://www.emlabs.jp
For effective support, please provide the following information:
・ This software version
・ PC OS version
・ Keysight IO Libraries version
・ Network Analyzer model number and its firmware version

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7. Reference

Supplementary explanation of each function
We provide further explanations of the functions shown in the figure below.
Position Adjustment

Setup Samples..
setting20

Sample Setup

Click Export to export the sample information in Excel book format. Click Import to import apreviously prepared sample information file in Excel book format. The sample information
file will be created in the following format.

Enter any string

Thickness unit is ㎛.

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Position Adjustment
Click on Position Adjustment and the network analyzer will detect the resonance peak. If theposition adjustment fails, please refer to the following items.
1. if no peak is detected, or if the following message appears, the sample holder may bepositioned too far from the center.

As instructed, turn the micrometer knob in
the arrow direction until you feel it tight (thesample holder has moved to the left limiter),and back off for 20 counts.
Click OK to re-search for peaks.

NOTEThe sample holder is moved left or right by turning the micrometer. To prevent
excessive movement, there are limiters on the left and right sides of the sample
holder. If the sample holder hits the left limiter, the micrometer cannot be turned
any further. Do not turn it by force, or it may be damaged. If the sample holder
hit the right limiter, you can continue to turn the micrometer, but the sample
holder will not move any further.

222. If the sample holder hits the right or left limiter before the trace in the screen reaches
the bottom and cannot be adjusted any further, the following causes may be considered.
⚫

The sample is warped or undulated.

⚫

The sample is not firmly seated between the sample plates.

⚫

The sample plates are not firmly seated in the sample holder.

Place the sample between the sample plates so that the warp or waviness of the sample
is as small as possible, and then place the sample plate firmly in the sample holder.
Swapping the left and right sides of the sample plates may work. If this does not work,
the sample may need to be processed flatter.

FP-Broadband: Operating the band selector
Pull the handle on the top of the band selector on the back of the resonator to operate it.
Below, on the left is the pulled-out state, and on the right is the pushed-in state.

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FP-Broadband : Switching Low/High
Set the band selector on the back of the FP-BB resonator properly: on Low, pull the band
selector out completely by holding the top handle; on High, push it in completely.

In the case of High band, Φ45 mm sample plates with a small aperture can be used. This isuseful when measuring warped samples or samples smaller than Φ65 mm.

NOTE

When measuring in Low band, always use Φ65 mm sample plates;
using Φ45 mm sample plates in Low band will result in a large
measurement error.

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